Callen Kitten Total Chaos
by Jasmine-Now-Leaves
Summary: In the episode 'Tin Soldiers' season 2, Kensi reads Callen's 'fortune'. When she says "You love kittens, long walks in the rain and Barry Mailow" Deeks is shocked. Just how close was she to the truth?
1. Chapter 1

In the episode 'Tin Soldiers' season 2, Kensi reads Callen's 'fortune'. When she says "You love kittens, long walks in the rain and Barry Mailow" Deeks is shocked. Just how close was she to the truth? Callen + kitten = total chaos.

Disclaimer: Don't own any of them. Bugger.

Author's Note: Just watched this episode again. Glad I did as I nearly got the wording wrong and it added a couple of chapters to this story. Enjoy!

Author's Note 2: Thanks to those who reviewed my other story Sam's Biscuit. If you haven't read it yet, that's fine. However I do mention it a little in future chapters.

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Callen was there again. On the street, looking at the woman who had been trying for the last several days to talk to him. After Gibbs left town and the case had wrapped up, he had decided to talk to her. He needed to unwind and maybe a normal date would do it. He looked back at Sam as the big SEAL was about to head off, only to be cut off by a van. He never heard Sam's cry, never saw the guns. The only thing he heard was "Meow!"

The noise woke him. The last thing he remembered was lying down on the couch at the new OSP office. At some point, someone had pulled the couch's throw over him. He opened his eyes and nearly fell off the sofa. Sitting on his chest, looking for all the world as though he belonged there, was a small, ginger fur-ball. The kitten mewed again, took a step toward his face and batted his nose; apparently not satisfied with Callen's lack of response. This time, Callen did fall off, taking the kitten with him. As cats do, he landed on his feet and vanished, racing toward a pillar and using it and the iron-work next to it, climbed up the pillar and disappeared into the ceiling.

Sitting up and leaning his back against the couch, Callen watched the little orange ball fly up the pillar and didn't see him again. "Huh. Well, that's one way to wake up from a nightmare." He got up, groaning slightly as he technically wasn't supposed to be back at work for another month yet. He put the throw back on the sofa and made his way over to the coffee pot.

Putting it on, he opened the fridge and saw, to his disgust that there was no milk. While everyone else was around, he drank it black, no sugar. But when he was on his own and first thing in the morning, he didn't like it that strong and the sugar hit would tie him over until he could get at the tootsie pops he kept in Sam's car.

Turning off the pot, no sense in it being on when he wasn't here, Callen got in his newly assigned car and headed out. He pulled into the nearest corner shop that was open really early and grabbed some milk, the low fat stuff that Kensi liked as he didn't want anyone to know about the fact that he drank white coffee. Kensi and the others, although Hetty was most likely the exception, still hadn't worked out that he was the one who used to bring the fresh milk every morning. Most often because he either didn't go back to whatever motel he was staying at or just couldn't sleep anymore and headed in early.

As he made his way to the counter, he passed the pet food section. Without realising he was doing it, he pulled a packet of kitten pellets, two small bowls and a carton of long life kitten milk off the shelf and placed them on the counter. The shop had a hot box and he realised that he was hungry, so he grabbed a couple of bacon and egg muffins and a box of doughnuts to share with everyone. He drove back to the mission and managed to hide the pet stuff before the others arrived. The day was uneventful, unless you count the numerous paper cuts they all got as Hetty had them catch up on paper work.

Callen found himself alone after everyone had left. Well, he thought he was alone until Hetty came down the stairs after making sure that Eric had shut down the upstairs computers. Callen was planning to leave the simple Thank You card he had picked up at lunch on her desk, but decided to hand it to her now. He knew that a lot of other people in charge of places like theirs didn't like their agents to sleep on the premises, so he was grateful to Hetty for allowing him to do so.

As the smaller woman was about to step on her stool and unhook her bag, she found it floating toward her. She followed the straps up and then along the arm that was holding it out for her and a smile graced her lips. Her Senior Agent in Charge had managed to sneak up on her, not something very many people could do.

She would have to find out where he had come from and install a camera there, as when she had checked the cameras a moment earlier, she was sure that she was the only one left._ Then again, the others had been here for several months and hadn't found that blind spot, while Callen had found it within a few days. Perhaps I will leave it. After all, I know that's there is one there somewhere now and it might come in handy if Callen or myself have to sneak up on one of the others._

She took the bag from Callen's outstretched hand and nodded her thanks. She smiled to herself then noticed that Callen hadn't left yet, in fact he had waited while she had been thinking and was now following her to the door. "Something on your mind, Mr Callen." She was slightly surprised when he held out the card for her, but took it nevertheless.

"Just wanted to say thanks for letting me crash on the sofa last night, and pulling the blanket over me." It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now, Callen wasn't so sure.

Hetty opened the card and saw that along with the typed words, **THANK YOU**, was just her name above the sentiment and Callen's below in his unmistakeably untidy handwriting.

Hetty turned to look at her agent but he had vanished again. That was twice now; maybe she was getting too old. She blinked her eyes and was surprised when a tear slipped out and ran down her face. She hadn't heard the front door, so she figured that the younger man was still in the building. She left, calling out as she did "Do lock up when you finish for the night, Mr Callen."


	2. Night Chaos

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, still. Bugger.

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Callen heard his boss call out and nodded to himself. The reason he wanted to stay another night was because he was pretty sure he had not only frightened the kitten, but had annoyed it. He went over to the radio that he had seen Dom trying to get to work when he had first come in. Someone had managed to get it going and Callen hit the power button. He recognised the song being played as one of Barry Manilow's.

Callen went over to the couch to get the bowls and the food he had stashed under it that morning and stopped when he noticed a ball of orange in the middle. He smiled as he realised that he had taken the kitten's bed the night before. He called out to the little fluff ball "Hey there, what are you doing on my bed?" he smiled when the kitten didn't startle and figured that he had been awake the whole time.

The kitten sat up on the couch and looked at Callen. He moved away from him as he got closer and jumped on the back of the sofa when Callen lowered himself to his knees and pulled out something.

Callen didn't look at the ginger statue on the back of the couch as he busied himself opening the packet of kitty pellets and the carton of milk. He poured both into different bowls and stepped back saying, "Sorry for taking your bed last night and frightening you this morning." He felt a little silly, apologising to a cat, but was surprised when the kitten jumped down and made his way over to him.

Standing still so he didn't scare him again, Callen felt the cat wind himself between his feet and rub his head against his legs. He bent down and held his hand out flat and was rewarded when the cat went over to it and pushed his head into his palm. He crouched there for several minutes, patting the kitten until he went over to the food and started to eat. From the way he was trying to eat as fast as possible, Callen figured that he hadn't eaten a decent meal in a while. _If he was that hungry and came to me for a pat first, he's either thanking me or he's forgiven me for taking his bed._ He decided that it was probably a bit of both. He sealed the cat food, placed it back under the couch and hid the milk at the back of the fridge. He walked back over to the couch and sat down.

After a few minutes, the kitten finished eating and jumped up next to Callen where he started to clean himself. When he had licked the last of the ceiling dust from his tail, the kitten curled up into a ball next to Callen's knee and started to purr.

Callen had lent his head against the couch back while the kitten ate. He startled when he felt a presence against his knee. He looked down and smiled as he felt the vibrations caused by the kitten's purring. He patted the ball using just his knuckle lightly on the top of his head. After several minutes, the purring stopped as he fell asleep. Callen slowly laid down on his side, behind the kitten and pulled the throw over them both. He smiled and thought to himself: _What would the others say if they saw this. What would Biscuit do if he caught Barry? _He realised that he had just named his new little friend after the singer that had been played on the radio for the past half an hour. The announcer had just mentioned that it was a Barry Manilow hits night. And so, listening to the radio with a little orange knee warmer, Callen fell asleep.

He woke, as he usually did, from getting shot that day. This time, instead of waking suddenly and jerking up, he felt something on his chest. He opened his eyes and found Barry sitting on him again. "You're getting the hang of this aren't you?" he said as he put his hands behind his head, noting the time as he did as two am. The ginger kitten just tipped his head to one side, took a step forward and batted Callen's nose, again. Callen lurched back and the kitten took off toward the kitchen. After a moment, he popped his head around the corner. "Mrrow?" he waited for Callen to make a move.

Callen sat up and looked at the little fur ball. _He knew I was having a bad dream and he woke me up, just like last night. Now, I think he wants to play._ Callen carefully got up and took a few steps toward the kitten, who backed up just as many. He turned away and took a step to one side. As the kitten stepped forward to see what he was doing; Callen suddenly turned to him and took a huge step toward him. Barry puffed up, hissed at him then vanished around the corner. Callen thought he had gone too far with the game. He wasn't use to playing with animals unless you count the criminals he dealt with in a daily basis.

He heard a "Meow" come from the sewing room. He went over but couldn't see Barry. Barry soared off a shelf that held orange, brown and tan fabric and used Callen as a landing pad on the way to the floor. Callen jumped as Barry hit him square in the back. He swung around and saw him take off toward Hetty's office.

"No, Barry, not there!" Callen was terrified that the energetic fluff ball would jump up on her desk or shelves and break one of her many and precious tea pots or matching cups. He raced over and looked for him. He found him, poking his head from between two books. "Well, now what? You can't be here or you'll break something. And I'm not paying for it." He crossed his arms and looked at the kitten that in just 24 hours had managed to get behind his walls.

He had never thought of having a pet of his own before, mainly because he never stayed in one place for too long. There was Biscuit, the rescue dog that Sam owned and Callen did spend time with him, but he never considered him as his pet.

But the kitten in front of him? Now that was another matter. Barry had woken him from the nightmare twice now, and each time had distracted him from being swallowed by the memories of pain, shock and terror that had enveloped him on the day. The kitten had helped Callen take his mind off the 'what if's' and given him something else to think about throughout the day before that had nothing to do with his work. Callen decided that if the kitten hung around the mission for a while; he would like to see what would happen between them.

While he had been thinking, Callen had tried to get the kitten off the shelf. Every time he made a move toward him, the young cat backed further into the shelf, threatening to push several books off. So Callen tried a different idea; he turned and walked away. He was just about to step off the last of the steps leading to Hetty's office when he heard the kitten cry out.

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Author's note: Ok, sucky ending. Wasn't quite sure how to finish this chapter. Also, I've made mention of my other story, 'Sam's Biscuit' here. If you haven't read it, that's ok. You don't need to as I'm pretty sure this is the only time I will mention it. Pretty sure. (?)


	3. Games and Thoughts

Disclaimer: Nope, Bugger!

A/N: so this is a bunch of POV's and a hint of chaos.

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The kitten looked at the man walking away. The man had fed him, allowed him to curl up next to him and had played with him, but now he was just walking away. Barry stood up from his position between a couple of books on the shelf and watched as the man left him, and he cried out.

He jumped onto the chair in front of the desk, wobbling slightly as it rolled forward and spun. When he got his feet under him again, he jumped onto the desk, knocking a pen; then onto the iron railing that joined two pillars. He walked along it and was about to jump off and follow the man when something grabbed him.

Barry struggled a moment until he heard the man's voice. It was kind and had a hint of amusement in it. The man held him like a baby and tickled his tummy, so he wrapped his front paws over the top of the man's wrist and, claws in, kicked his back legs against the underside of the wrist. The man laughed and held him a moment longer before pulling his hand away.

Barry stayed in the crook of his new friend's arm as he took them both back over to the couch. The man lay down and held Barry's ear very close to his mouth and said the same thing over and over again. He repeated it several times then put him on the floor and said it again, while patting his chest. Barry jumped up and settled on his chest and was rewarded with a pat tat encompassed his whole body. He realised that the man had given him a name. The word that he had whispered in his ear was his name. He had a name. He started to purr.

Callen heard Barry call out, but didn't turn. As he walked he head the books rustle, then Hetty's chair move, a pen fall off the desk and finally the iron railing rattle as the kitten followed him. He spun around and snatched the kitten off the rail. He didn't know what made him do it but he cradled the little fuzzy creature in the crook of one elbow and started to tickle his tummy. Callen laughed as the kitten grabbed his wrist and kicked it. He continued to tickle for a while; as much as he could with the kitten holding his wrist, then walked back over to the couch. He lay down held the kitten to his mouth and whispered his name over and over for several minutes. Then he put the kitten on the floor next to the couch and called Barry, tapping his chest as he did. When Barry jumped and curled up on his ribs, he ran his hand over the kitten. Callen smiled as he felt and a moment later heard him start to purr. He continued to pat him, even as the warmth and vibrations started to make him drowsy. Finally, he pulled the throw over the two of them again and slept.

Hetty was the first to arrive, as usual, the next morning. As she made her way toward her desk she saw something that would forever be engrained in her memory. Laying on the sofa, with the throw half covering his legs the rest on the floor; was Callen, sleeping. Actually sleeping. Sitting on his chest, like a sentry on duty, was a little orange kitten.

She figured the reason Callen had wanted to stay another night was because he had found out that he had taken the kitten's bed. She smiled at the two of them and said her customary greeting to the kitten "Your job is done, I'm here now." She expected the kitten to head to his 'stairway' into the ceiling as usual but she watched as he suddenly turned and batted Callen's nose with his paw. Hetty was about to reprimand the young cat when she realised that Callen had started to moan and had thrown his hand up, as though to ward off an attack.

She backed off a bit and stood behind a conveniently placed pot plant to watch what happened next. She saw that Callen was now awake, patting the little feline and heard him thanking him. After a moment, the kitten jumped off the couch, drank the last of the milk from the bowl and headed up into the roof for the day. She smiled and watched as her senior agent in charge washed, dried and stored the bowls under the couch. She quietly moved around the plant, staying out of sight, as Callen went to the gym for a shower. She chuckled and made a silent note to herself to watch the surveillance tapes from last night to see what happened to make the kitten allow Callen in.

As the day progressed, she managed to piece together some of what Callen and his kitten had gotten up to the night before. She heard her seamstresses and tailors complain that something had happened to several bolts of orange and tan fabric that they had found on the floor. She herself had found a gap on one of her shelves and her favourite pen on the floor. And when Kensi turned on the stereo, Barry Manilow flowed out of the speakers; causing Callen, who had been giving her a briefing, to stutter slightly. That night, when she got home, she watched the tapes. She smiled at the tenderness and kindness that Callen showed and laughed at the games each played on the other and knew that they needed each other.

She had seen him often on the security cameras; patrolling the mission after everyone had left for the night. More often than not, when she arrived for work, he would sit up on the couch and watch her. The first time she had tried to get close to him, the kitten had fled up into the roof.

The next morning she had simply stood at the entrance to the bullpen and said "You are welcome here for as long as you like. But the moment you start to claw the furniture you're done." She wagged her finger at him and he had just tipped his head to one side and thumped his tail against the seat, the kitten version of a smirk.

"Your job is done, I'm here now." She continued and was surprised when the kitten had stretched, yawned and calmly walked over to the pillar he had raced up the morning before. He waved his tail lazily, looked over his shoulder at her then jumped up and vanished into the ceiling.

Over the next two months it had grown into a routine between the two of them, he stayed until she arrived and said that he could go. He was like the night watchman and wouldn't leave until the day shift had arrived. She had tried to get close to him but he wouldn't have it. Now it appeared that in just one day, Callen had managed to form a bond with the little guy. She just hoped that when the time came and the kitten wanted to move on, Callen would be alright.

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Authors Note: Enough chaos, or do you want more?

Author's Note 2: The grabbing of Callen's wrist is something my cat does and it really does tickle!


	4. Dealing with Dom's Death

Thanks to all those who have reviewed. You made my day. People at work were wondering what the happy juice was I had drunk this morning, I had such a huge grin on my face.

So this one is very long and doesn't have much chaos in it but the next chapter will have plenty. I though how would Barry help Callen deal with Dom's death. And with so many of you saying that you enjoy the moments between Callen and Hetty, this kinda happened. So it's after midnight here and I have to go to work in a few hours so I'm posting this and hitting the hay. Thanks again for all the reviews.

Disclaimer: Nope not mine, still. Bugger!

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Callen spent many nights at the mission, and most times he had the best sleep then as Barry helped to keep the nightmares at bay. Mainly by tiring him out with games of hide and seek and chasy.

Then, Dom died. After telling Sam to go and be with his family and Kensi to call a friend, any friend, Hetty found Callen in the bathroom, trying to wash the blood from his hands. Hetty could see that there was nothing on them but she also knew the feeling of the blood still being there. She watched as he scrubbed furiously at his hands, muttering as he did. She picked up a few choice swear words, but when she heard them directed at himself, she couldn't stand by silently and let him fall into the trap of thinking it was his fault when it wasn't. She walked over and grabbed his hands, stilling them and pulling them away from the sink.

"It was not your fault, Mr Callen. If you want to blame someone, blame the men who took him, blame the man who shot him, blame me, but _**never**_ yourself. You understand?" she looked up into his eyes. She had never seen them so dull, so lifeless, so grey. The usual blue spark that attracted so many women to them was gone, and she only hoped that it would return.

"You, Hetty?" Callen looked from their hands and met her eyes, "Why would I blame you?" his voice was flat, not a hint of the ever present smirk.

"Because I was the one who didn't try hard enough, I was the one who lost hope of finding him, in any condition; I was the one who gave up on him."

"We both know that's not true. You spent every minute you had, called in every favour you could and offered several more to try and find him. You _**never**_ gave up on him." He squeezed her small hands slightly as he said the last sentence. "And I could never blame you. You'd come after me with your letter opener." Some of his cheekiness returned as he straightened and processed Hetty's words. He realised that, while he had done everything he could, they all had; there was nothing he could do that would bring Dom back.

Hetty heard the sassiness return as he straightened and she released her hold on his hands. She had been afraid that he would go off on his own to try and find Keshwhar. But as he straightened, she heard the tone that meant, while he was still upset and would be for some time; he wouldn't abandon his makeshift family. She could see the resolve in his eyes as a tiny little spark of blue started to find its way back into them again. She smiled, stepped back and watched as he cleaned up the remnants of paper towels.

Then they both headed back to the bullpen. Callen went into the kitchen area and started the kettle while Hetty ducked into her office and pulled out a case. She took it into the kitchen, but stopped and watched as Callen stood, turned and held a fluffy orange bundle to his chest. She smiled and let a small chuckle escape her lips.

"I figured you knew about him." Callen said as they walked into the kitchen as the kettle finished. He held Barry in the crook of one arm as he helped Hetty pull out the tea set she had in the case.

"Yes, the morning after we moved in here I found him sitting on my desk. I scolded him not to do it again and every morning after he has awaited my arrival on that sofa." She nodded in the direction of the couch. She let Callen take the tea pot over to his desk as she carried the cups. She sat in his chair as he snagged Kensi's and sat next to her.

Callen took a sip of tea and, looking at the pattern, said "I don't think I've seen this set before. Where have you been hiding this one?" Callen was sure he had never come across this one previously. While he was a coffee drinker, he liked the occasional tea, especially with Hetty. Stories usually came about while they drank and often included how she got the set they were drinking from. The pattern on this one was of small hand painted Forget-me-not's and pink and white carnations.

"A friend had this made for me many years ago. Sadly he never saw it finished." She sipped her tea and watched as the little cat settled in Callen's lap. She could hear him purring as he patted him. They both needed the distraction of the story she was about to tell. "He had saved my life several times and I his, however this was one time I could not." She put the cup down and leaned back in Callen's chair. "He had been shot several days earlier and had not told me. We were racing to get out of the country and it wasn't until we got to the safe house that he told me he was wounded."

Callen listened as he sipped his tea and patted the small cat on his lap. He didn't look up at Hetty as she told her tale, feeling that the story had a special meaning to her. He loved her stories, mainly because it was rare for her to tell them, to anyone. But this one was different. This one she was telling him had no trace of the laughter that he often heard in others, so he paid attention to every word.

"He told me of this tea set after we arrived at the safe house. He had placed the order detailing the design just after getting shot. He found out that I had been discovered and knew he was dying, but instead of getting help, he had gone back into the lion's den. Even after his cover had been blown, he risked everything to save me. He died three hours after we arrived from blood poisoning."

Hetty sat forward and poured herself another cup and refilled Callen's when he held it out before continuing. "He made me promise to have a cup for him when I got it. It took me a long time to get it. The country was unstable for a long time and my cover had been compromised. As it was, I got it on the tenth anniversary of his death." She took a moment to have several mouthfuls of the tea. "The last time I used it was after Agent Sullivan's death."

"What do the flowers mean?" Callen knew that there were certain flowers that had meanings but didn't know what these ones stood for.

"The forget-me-not, remember me forever; the white carnation is remembrance and the pink is gratitude."

"We'll never forget Dom, he'll always be remembered and he was grateful to you for giving him a chance when he had just finished training." Callen looked into her eyes and didn't know what he saw there, she was concealing her thoughts from him too well. _Maybe I'm tired._ Even though it was only 2100, it had been a very long day. "If it's ok with you Hetty, I'm going to crash here tonight. I don't feel like driving anywhere tonight."

He saw her nod and, lifting Barry from his lap, stood and placed the cat on the sofa. The returned to his desk and picked up the cups. Taking them to the sink, he washed, dried and placed them back into the case. He did the same to the pot and by the time he was finished, Hetty come over to him and took the case as he held it out to her. She nodded her thanks and after placing the case back in its proper place left for the night.

Barry was still curled where Callen had placed him and he laid down next to him, pulling the throw over them both. The nightmares started shortly before dawn, but this time, it was one where Dom was getting shot that Barry woke Callen from, the same way as he always did. Callen woke sharply, sitting up suddenly on alert until he saw Barry, and he calmed down. He swung his legs off the sofa and sat with his head in his hands as he thought about the night before.

He wasn't sure what he had seen in Hetty's eyes. Her face was blank, and he was worried. He vowed to keep an eye her. His fears were confirmed when the director made a show of allowing him to see the letter Hetty had given him a couple of days later. After picking Vance's pocket, Callen slipped into Hetty's privet store of liquor and took a bottle and a couple of glasses.

As he poured the second round of amber liquid later that night, he felt Barry wind himself around his legs. Before he could lean over the arm rest and pick him up, Barry jumped up on to the desk and made his way over to Hetty. He sat right in front of her and tipped his head to the side. Strangely, Callen had tipped his own in the same direction as he wondered what the cat was doing and it brought a smile to her face. She and Callen leaned toward the tabby at the same time, her to pat him, Callen to pick him off the desk. Barry stepped toward Hetty, simultaneously and when she was close enough, swatted her on the nose before Callen could reach him. She jumped back in shock as Callen whipped him away.

"What the hell, Barry? What was that for?" Callen was furious at him and at the same time a little worried. What if he had hurt Hetty and she didn't want him at OSP anymore. He turned back to Hetty to make sure she was alright and to apologise.

"I think he was saying how could I contemplate the notion of leaving you." She put her hand to her nose and was relieved to see that there was no blood on her hand as she looked at it. She looked at the cat and realised how much of a wakeup call Callen got when Barry hit him. It defiantly would chase away a nightmare. She saw the ginger face looking at her as though to say_ I hope you're staying put now._

She said "I'm not going anywhere Barry." And hearing that, as though he could understand her, Barry started to purr, loud enough that she could hear him.

Callen calmed down when he realised that Hetty wasn't going to do anything to his cat and sat back down. The pair of them talked long into the night about people they had lost, of those they had watching for a while and those yet to reach their potential. Hetty left Callen on the sofa again with his orange protector watching over him and the OSP from the back of the lounge. She nodded to Barry as a promise that she would be back.

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Author's note: Sorry if this one doesn't make a lot of sense. Like I mentioned earlier, it's late. Does that even make sense? Anyway, going to bed now. Hope you enjoyed this one. Marty meets Barry in the next chapter.


	5. Deeks Meets Barry

**Ok, so this is a really, really long one. I just couldn't stop writting it! Hope you like it. Thanks hugely for all your reviews. They put a smile on my face and a bounce in my step.**

**Disclaimer: Really? Nope, still not mine, Bugger. **

**Deeks meets Barry and learns why the team came after him when he went missing. The look on Deeks face in _Tin Soldiers_ is the reason for this and the following chapter. This and the next popped into my head when I was watching it a while ago and the main reason why I wrote this story.**

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It had been over a year since Barry had come into Callen's life. He lived at OSP since Callen never stayed in one place long; but because of that Callen often found himself staying there while in between homes. One night Callen was chasing after Barry, who had stolen his badge, when he crashed into something that shouldn't have been there. He staggered to his feet and looked at the still form of Deeks, laying sprawled on the floor, out cold. They had managed to find and save him from a human trafficker a few days earlier and he was still recovering, so a knock to the head was not good.

"Damn!" Callen cursed, annoyed with himself for hurting the younger man further. He knelt down and checked his vitals and let out a sigh when he felt a steady pulse. Lifting an arm over his shoulder, he managed to carry Deeks over to the sofa. Laying the detective down, Callen went over to the sink and dampened a cloth. As he squeezed out the excess water, he heard a shout and a thump. He spun round and saw Deeks on the floor next to the couch.

"Deeks, you ok? What happened?" Callen came back over and knelt next to him.

"Yeah, I'm good. That happened." He was rubbing his nose with one hand and used the other hand to point to something behind Callen. He had woken up when something had hit his nose, hard. He opened his eyes and saw an orange shape in front of his face and jolted away, only to fall off the sofa. "What is that?" he was still pointing at the dark shape that had fled when he startled awake.

"'That' is Barry, and you scared him." Callen said as he helped Deeks to his feet and sat him back on the couch. He sat down in a chair opposite him and checked his eyes, making sure that there was no concussion.

"I scared him?"

"Yep. When you were unconscious. He doesn't like it when people are out cold." As Callen spoke, Barry crept up behind him. Just as he was about to get up and put the kettle on, Barry leapt, landed on his shoulder then jumped onto the couch next to Deeks. Callen let out a yell of surprise as he was forced back into the chair as his cat hit his shoulder. He recovered his breath and looked at the orange tabby.

No longer a kitten, Barry still had the energy of one and used every ounce of it. He still had Callen's badge in his mouth and gnashed his jaws together to remind him of the fact they still had a game to finish. His teeth clinked as they hit the metal of the badge. He saw Callen's eyebrows lift and the man nearly caught him as he shot out of the chair toward him. Barry raced across the newcomers lap, flew off the couch and into the darkness that swallowed the mission. The man only turned on a couple of lights and Barry was glad of that. The light hurt his eyes a little. He waited for Callen behind a pot plant in the wardrobe area.

Callen looked at Barry as he sped off into the darkness. Callen had moved toward the cat to take his badge back but wasn't fast enough. He nearly ended up in Deeks lap, but at the last minute had managed to roll to the side so now he was sitting next to the very startled detective.

"What the?" was all Deeks could say. He had no idea what had happened in the last few seconds. He looked toward the direction that the ginger feline had fled and back toward the Senior Agent in Charge.

"He managed to get a hold of my badge while I was having a shower and started playing with it. I went to get it back and he turned it into a game." Callen checked over his shoulder before getting up and heading toward the kitchen. He looked back at Deeks and asked "Don't mention it to the others." He turned back to the task of making a cup of tea, heard Deeks get up from the couch and pulled down another cup.

"Why?" Deeks asked. He could see that Callen had wanted to chase after the cat, but had decided to stay and tell him what had happened. He heard something in Callen's voice that he couldn't quite pin, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Barry had stolen his badge.

"Not only would they tease me forever, they wouldn't get it." Callen had poured water into the two cups and they went to their desks.

"The fact that you've got a pet when you have a job that could get you killed?" Deeks took a sip and, while he wasn't a tea drinker, he liked this one. "This is good, what is it?" He looked at Callen and saw that the older man was looking at him oddly.

"It's Camomile, and how do you know?" Callen couldn't believe that Deeks had understood his reluctance at letting the others know.

"I have a dog." Was all he said.

The two men finished their tea in a comfortable silence, Callen keeping an eye on Deeks in case he showed any signs of a concussion.

"Well, I'd better go and find him and get my badge back or he'll drop it in the toilet or something." Callen got up and winced as a bruise from his earlier crash with Deeks made itself known on his knee.

"He's done it before?" Deeks got up as well and they took their cups to the sink.

"Not with the badge. He succeeded in getting my keys last week and somehow got them into the incinerator when I wouldn't play with him. If Hetty hadn't seen them before she hit the button, well." Callen looked a little embarrassed at the fact that a cat had managed to get the best of him.

"Well, let's get that shield back." Deeks headed off in the direction that he had last seen the tabby.

Callen hurried to catch up with him and asked "Why are you helping?"

"Because I don't want to be in the room when Hetty finds out that Barry managed to lose or destroy your badge if we don't." he stopped as he spotted movement in the dressing area. He pointed it out to Callen, who nodded and continued on while Deeks went round to the back of the wardrobe section. He saw Callen walk right up to him and Barry back away, moving closer to where Deeks stood. Deeks moved silently to the side as Barry got closer until the cat backed up against his shoes.

Barry whirled round to see what had stopped him. He was sure that there hadn't been anything behind him when he had planned the route while waiting for Callen to come. He saw that the man Callen had crashed into had snuck up behind him. Thinking about what to do next, he paused a beat; until he heard Callen move closer. He looked toward his friend then took off like a rocket toward the stairs. At least he tried to; something had grabbed him around the middle and lifted him off the ground. He yowled, dropping the badge and lashed out, catching one of the wrists holding him. The hands let him go, and he fell into Callen's arms.

Deeks held his wrist to his chest, his other hand pressing hard against the wound. He had yelled when Barry had scratched him, but he doubted that Callen had heard him over the howling the cat was doing. He knew it had been a silly idea the moment he had thought of it, but he did it anyway. He figured that Barry would be distracted by Callen moving closer and had bent down to pick him up so that they could get the badge from him. The game of chase could have gone on for hours but Deeks didn't think that he would be able to handle much more. He was sore, tired and he still had to retrieve his wallet from his desk, the reason he had come to the OSP office in the first place.

Callen caught Barry as Deeks dropped him. But he wasn't a kitten anymore and he grunted as he lifted his pet into a more comfortable position while trying to calm him. Barry really didn't like being grabbed, especially by strangers; he was really kicking up a stink. Twice Callen nearly dropped him as he struggled until he realised that the hands holding him were Callen's. He spoke quietly, stroking him until his purring vibrated though his arms. He took him over to the couch and set him down, where Barry curled up into a large orange ball and fell asleep. Callen then looked over to where Deeks was still standing, holding his arm to his chest.

"Deeks, you Ok?" this was becoming a catch phrase for the detective.

"NO! Your bloody cat tore up my arm!" Deeks walked over angrily and sat at his desk, not wanting to get any closer to the monster that had made mincemeat of his arm. "Now I can't go surfing tomorrow." He pulled his hand away from the cut and winced at the blood that covered it.

"You want me to take a look at it?" Callen had pulled his personal first aid kit from his bag.

"No. I'll do it myself." He reached out for the kit and nearly fell off the chair as the combination of the earlier crash with Callen and now the blood loss took a toll on his already battered body. He would have fallen had it not been for Callen, who caught him.

"Yeah, right. Now stop being stubborn and let me help you." He pulled Sam's chair over to Deeks and sat in front of him. He pulled out anti-septic, gauze and a bandage and set them on the table.

"You're one to talk about stubborn. You don't let others help patch you up." Deeks mumbled, then hissed as Callen wiped anti-septic over the wound.

"I do when I know that I can't do it myself. And when I need to talk." Callen's voice went quiet as he spoke the last sentence. He sensed that Deeks needed to talk. He could have left when he finished his tea, but instead he had stayed to help Callen get his badge back.

Callen didn't need the help. He would have eventually corned Barry and then fallen into a deep sleep that would have resulted in at least four hours solid rest. But Deeks had grabbed the feline and ended the game. He hadn't even been aware the Barry had hurt Deeks until he turned around after putting the cat on the couch and saw him cradling his arm against his torso.

"I don't need to talk." Deeks had gotten the under-current of the message and didn't like the fact that Callen had noticed. _How the hell did he know?_

"Yeah you do. You could have left after finishing the tea, but you stayed. Now either you really didn't want to be anywhere near here if I hadn't been able to get the badge back, or you wanted to get scratched." Callen continued to talk as he cleaned Deeks arm, put a pad over it and wrapped a bandage around it to hold it in place. He didn't look up; pretty sure that Deeks was creasing his brows, thinking. "Now spill. What's on your mind?" he finished and looked into Deeks' face. He was expecting to see annoyance at the last sentence, instead he saw, he wasn't quite sure what to call it; confusion, sadness, wonder?

"Why?" Was all the detective asked.

"Why what?" Now Callen was confused.

"Why did Hetty and Sam and Kensi and you risk your lives to find me? Lasik could have shot you the moment you walked into the building. Why help me? You don't even know me." Deeks could feel his eyes getting moist. He really wanted to know why this team from a federal agency cared enough about him to find him, a simple detective when the LAPD couldn't, or rather wouldn't. He dashed the tears away with his now bandaged arm, forgetting about the wound until then. He gasped as the pain flared up then took the tablets that Callen was holding out to him. He noticed that Callen hadn't answered his question as the older man walked away to the kitchen. He head the kettle start to boil and sighed, realising that he wasn't going to get a reply. He dry swallowed the painkillers, fished out his wallet from the draw in his desk and stood, only to be forced down again as Callen came up behind him and handed him another cup of tea.

"Because you're family. You're one of us. You may not be an agent, but Hetty wouldn't have made you our 'liaison' if she didn't think you would fit in." Callen sat back in the chair he was using earlier and looked at the younger man in front of him. He could sense that it was something to do with the fact it had been NCIS and not LAPD that had found and saved him that was causing him to question why. "You've got skills. The ability to think on your feet, to pull a lie out of nothing and make it work."

He paused a beat "And you make Kensi smile." This time he was sure that he saw Deeks' lips tilt up in a small smile. "Like the rest of us, you've got a heart of gold and you will protect your family." Callen slapped Deeks of the shoulder and stood. "Unlike the rest of us however, you have had one too many knocks to the head in recent days, so you are not driving home. You're staying here where Barry and I can keep an eye on you." He pulled Deeks to his feet and led the protesting man over to the couch where Barry jumped up to the back of the sofa.

"Callen, I'm fine, I can drive home." He really didn't want to be anywhere near the cat that not only had given him a sore nose but a nasty scratch on his arm.

"Down." Callen said, forcing Deeks to sit on the couch, then making him lay down, he pulled the throw over him. He patted Barry, who was watching from the back of the couch and went to turn the light off. Callen knew that Barry would keep an eye on Deeks and would wake him if anything seemed odd; or would come and find Callen if he couldn't. Callen headed to where he had stashed his bed roll and laid it out behind his desk, knowing that he wouldn't get much sleep while his subconscious kept an eye on Deeks as he slept.

As Deeks lay on the couch, listening to the purring coming from the cat perched there, he thought back to the conversation. He was slightly surprised that Calen had told him what he had. That even though they barely knew him and he them, Callen had said that they thought of him as family. Family, it was something that the LAPD had never made him feel a part of. Sure, he wore the same badge and answered to the same boss, but it was the fact the he was so damn good at the very things that Callen had pointed out that the men and women of the LAPD never liked him. He marched to a different beat, one that often lead to him having to find his own way home, to patch himself up. He had allowed Hetty to patch him up after they had found him a few days ago, but that was because he was sure that she had made a subtle move toward the letter opener on her desk. Now he was thinking about it and a lot of other things that had happened since he had met the NCIS team. No, not team, family. He was starting to think that Hetty signing him on as a liaison officer was a stepping stone to something more.

That was the last clear thought Deeks had as the lack of sleep, exhaustion, grief and shock of the trafficking case caught up with him. Above him, Barry looked down and, waiting a moment to make sure that the man wasn't foxing, he landed lightly next to the man and curled up next to his ribs. His body heat helping to heal the bruises and send the man into a deeper sleep. He started to purr and the vibrations from it massaged out the knots of tension in the detective.

From his position on the floor several meters away, Callen heard Barry land on the seat then the purring and smiled. Turing over, he knew that Deeks would be alright, and fell asleep.

Barry knew something was wrong. He opened his eyes and looked at the man he was curled up next to. His breathing had changed slightly, the steady rise and fall that Barry had felt most of the night had altered; it was now short, shuddering and there was no rhythm to it. Barry sensed that this was typically the time that Callen had nightmares and they usually started the same way before he would start to thrash. Which was what had just happened, Barry found himself on the floor as Deeks rolled toward the back of the couch, his injured arm swiping Barry from the couch. He jumped back up and, the moment Deeks stopped moving long enough, he leapt onto his chest and batted Deeks' nose. Not wanting to end up on the floor again, _it was cold_; Barry bounded up onto the back of the sofa.

Deeks stopped moving and opened his eyes. He didn't see the thing that had hit his nose and woke him up. At first, he was confused as to where he was, then it all came back to him as he moved his arm and it hurt. He hissed and went to throw the cover off himself and head home when a voice stopped him.

"Barry didn't wake you up so you could go home. Now lay back down and stay the rest of the night." Callen's voice was muffled by the fact that it had come from behind his desk and from beneath his blanket.

"How did he know?" Deeks could now see the cat on the back of the couch looking down at him. He didn't make another move to get up. He had just noticed that his ribs were no longer sore and that his shoulders were a lot looser. Then he felt the vibrations as Barry started to purr again.

"He just does. He wakes me up often. Now are you going to go back to sleep?"

Deeks yawned and laid his head back down "Yeah." He wondered how often Callen actually slept here. Then as before he fell asleep before he could think of anything else.

Callen had noticed the change in Deeks' breathing but refrained from getting up unless Barry couldn't wake him. Upon hearing the sound of paw against nose then Deeks attempting to get up, he called out, knowing that the other man would have wanted to head home. He knew that Deeks was in no shape to drive still, being tired, grieving and healing. When he heard the steady breathing again, he got up and checked him. The limited light coming in thru the window offered little and made the dark lines on Deeks' face stand out even more. His face was still haunted but at least he looked a little more rested. Nodding, Callen once again patted Barry and got him a bowl of milk, then headed to the gym, taking one of Hetty's Russian books with him. He had slept enough tonight and read until he heard Hetty come in shortly after dawn.

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**Next up is a cat that doesn't know his limits. He really sould have learnt that if he couldn't make it as a kitten, what on earth made him think that he could as a full grown cat?**

**Again thanks for your reviews!**


	6. Barry Breaks a leg

Thank you to those who left a review. They put a huge smile in my day. Sorry for the delay, this took a while to write and I'm still not happy with it. But I just can't seem to make it any better.

Disclaimer: Nope still not mine. Bugger.

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Barry looked at the chandelier hanging in the middle of the lobby. It was the one place he hadn't been able to jump to as a kitten. He knew that he couldn't, it was too far away from any jump site. But he was older now, bigger, stronger; he can do it. He jumped up onto the iron work that surrounded the bullpen and saw that he wouldn't make it from there, it was still too high. So he jumped down and made his way to the second floor landing. It was late, almost midnight.

Callen had just moved into a new place and hadn't been staying over as much, but if he did show up it was usually around two am. Barry wanted to be waiting for him when he did, and the chandelier was the only place Callen wouldn't be expecting him to jump from. He liked to leap out from somewhere and land on him, then race off with his human friend after him in an impromptu game of chase. It always tired the other man out enough that he would then fall asleep for several hours on the couch.

Barry wandered around the landing, judging distances and eventually found a place that was closer than all the others. He jumped up onto the railing, wobbling a little before getting his balance, figuring out just how much energy he needed in his legs to be able to make it. Then he leapt. He would have made it, were it not for the fact that the railing was loose and wobbled as he jumped. He stretched his paws out, trying to get a grip on the iron work that made up the old chandelier, but missed and hit the side of a pot plant on the way down. He yowled as a pain flared up in his back right leg as the bone broke. He lay on the ground, whimpering in pain. He had hurt himself before, but never this badly and worse, while Callen may come in in a couple of hours, he may not come in at all. He lay there, feeling sorry for himself and a little foolish. He knew that he couldn't have made it when he was little, what on earth had made him think that he could grown up?

Callen wandered into OSP around two am. While his new house was good, he wanted to still spend time with Barry. He figured that the cat wouldn't like to move, after all he had grown up here and he had heard that cats don't tend to like getting uprooted and moved, so for the moment, Callen left him here. He cautiously entered the bullpen, looking up at the iron work and supports. On the last few occasions, Barry had jumped down on him from points around the desks, so Callen didn't want to be caught out. As he didn't see Barry he dumped his bag in his chair, and that was when heard a small meow coming from behind one of the pot plants. It sounded hurt. Callen hurried toward it, but when he couldn't see anything he called out "Barry?" He heard the cry again, slightly to his left and below him. He turned to it saw his cat on his side next to the pot and with his back leg at a weird angle.

"What the hell did you do to yourself?" He was trying to be annoyed on the outside but on the inside he was panicking. He had never had to take Barry to the vet before; in fact, he had never had to take any animal to the vet, not even Sam's dog. He had no idea where the nearest one was. He went to pick Barry up, but the moment he touched him, Barry hissed and lashed out, something he had never done to Callen before. He stayed next to Barry as he cradled his hand where Barry had managed to give him a small scratch, thinking about what to do. He pulled put his phone and was half way thru punching in Sam's number when he stopped and dialled another.

"Deeks, Barry's hurt himself, it looks bad." He nodded as Deeks said that he would be right there. He hung up and spent the fifteen minutes waiting talking calmly to his pet. When Deeks walked in, Callen called out to guide him.

"Have you tried to pick him up?" Deeks knelt down next to Callen and saw the scratch.

"Yeah." He showed his hand to Deeks. "I can take care of it later."

"It looks like he's broken his leg." He looked up and saw that they were directly underneath the old chandelier. "I'm guessing that he tried to get to that." He pointed it out to Callen who chuckled.

"That sounds about right." He shook his head and looked back at his pet. He reached out and slowly stroked his head. "Is that where you were planning to get me this time?" he could have sworn that Barry nodded as he pushed his head into the palm of his hand.

"Try picking him up again and put him on this." Deeks had gone over to the couch and retrieved the throw. He folded it up until it was a little larger than the cat and placed it next to him. This time, knowing what was coming, Barry allowed Callen to pick him up and put him on the blanket. The two men then carried him out to Callen's car, each holding two sides of the make-shift stretcher.

As they got him settled, Callen asked "Where is the nearest vet?"

"You've never taken him to one?" Deeks looked at Callen in surprise.

"Never any need to til now. Why?"

"He has to be vaccinated for starters. Then there are boosters and a whole bunch of other things." Deeks could see that Callen simply wanted to get Barry's leg fixed up and didn't want to know about anything else. He sighed and gave Callen the address of a vet not too far away. It wasn't the closest but it was open 24 hours.

Callen thanked Deeks and headed off. Deeks stood for a moment longer in the car park before heading back to the door and locking up for the night. _Callen must have been really worried to have forgotten that _he thought. Wondering where Barry was going to stay since he wouldn't be able to jump up into the roof for a while, he got in his car and headed back home.

Callen arrived at the clinic Deeks had told him about. On the drive he had worked out his cover story. He had an ID set containing credit cards, drivers licence and membership cards to a gym in his glove box. They were the ones he used when he was living at the house that he now owned. He had decided to tell the vet that he had found Barry at the base of a grandfather clock in the lobby at work, it wasn't far from the truth.

"Mr Windslow?" Dr Rises, the vet came out and looked for the man who had brought in the orange cat with a broken leg. He saw a man get up and head over to him. "We were able to get a cast on his leg and he should be fine. He's still young so he should adapt and heal quickly." He looked at the man as he sighed heavily. "The bone looked like it had been smashed, like being hit by a car, not caused by a fall." The vet wanted to see the man's reaction and was slightly surprised by the response.

"Yeah, well that tends to happen if you hit a pot plant on the way to the floor. He tried to jump onto the clock from the back of a chair, which was on wheels." Windlsow held out his hands and shrugged in a way that said _and you can see how well that turned out._

Rises looked at the man and didn't see any signs of a lie. He nodded and made a note in the chart he had done up for the cat. "Has he had any vaccinations, check-ups, anything?"

"I'm not sure."

"He's yours isn't he?" Rises looked up and saw that the man shrugged.

"He lives at the building I work at so I don't know."

"And you were there at three in the morning?"

"I just finished working the night shift of security when I found him."

The vet could see that Windslow was starting to get a little annoyed at the twenty questions game so he finished by saying "Ok. Well, you'll have to take him home him home for a while. He won't be able to move around to easily for a while." He handed the man a list of things to do and keep an eye out for as well as the bill. After it was paid, he showed Windslow back to where Barry was resting.

Rises looked on as the man crouched down, spoke to him softly in a foreign language and patted his head. Windslow then picked him up and put him into the carrier he had bought while waiting. Rises watched as Windslow put the carrier in the back seat and put a safety belt around it. He sighed in relief as the man pulled out. He had noticed a couple of his night nurses watching Windslow ever since he had brought in the cat. Maybe now they would get some work done.

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Author's Note: Um, thoughts?


	7. Russian, pet doors and leaves?

Author's Note 1: So this is for all those who liked the Callen and Deeks moments in other chapters and for those who just love Barry doing something funny. Thank you to all those who have reviewed.

Author's Note 2: Just a small one! NOT! Hope you like it. :P

Disclaimer: Nope Bugger!

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Callen took Barry to his new home. He knew that there was no way the orange trouble maker would be able to move around OSP very well let alone jump up into the roof. As he opened the front door, he realised that he would have to make a pet door in the back door for him. He shut the front one behind him and carried him thru to his bedroom. He opened the carrier and lifted Barry out and put him onto the carpet next to his bedroll to sleep. He was still out from the anaesthetic, so Callen went and got his feed bowls from his bag.

He filled one with water and the other with a few nuts and left them in the living room. Then he headed back to his room and lay down next to Barry. There, he fell into an uneasy sleep. He woke when something cold and wet touched his chin. He jumped slightly, then realised that it was Barry, slowly waking up. Unknowingly, Barry had curled up next to Callen, well as well as he could with a cast on one leg. Callen smiled as he watched Barry slowly come round. He started to stroke his head and spoke to him softly in Russian.

He had started doing it after he had found out that Alina Rostov had been killed and that Ethan Stanhope was alive. He had stayed the night at the mission and again Barry had woken him with a tap to the nose when the nightmare of the shooting had started. Except that it was Alina that was shot not him. He started to talk to his little friend, telling him about Alina. It took him a while to notice that he was speaking in Russian and it quickly became something that he did whenever there had been a stressful case.

Barry woke and shook his head. The last thing he remembered was a strange man bringing something close to his face. He had tried to lash out but found his eyes getting heavy. He felt something on his head and heard a familiar voice talking to him. It was his friend and he started to purr, only to stop as a pain started in his leg. He looked at it and saw that there was something covering it. He tried to scratch at it only to find his friend stoping him. He said something to him and pulled his paw away. He let go, but when Barry made another attempt to scratch at his leg, the man grabbed his paw again and held it firmly while he said something. This time, there was no humour to his tone and Barry got the message, 'leave the leg alone'. Barry pulled his paw away and made to try and stand. He was a little wobbly but managed to walk several steps before falling over and landing in a pool of sun light that spilled from the window. The warmth was lovely and he decided not to move for a while. He started to purr and didn't feel any pain as the sun and cast acted like a natural heat pack and warmed away the pain.

Callen observed Barry's attempt to walk normally with amusement. His cat was a little unsteady and he had to fight to not laugh out loud as he fell into the light. When he heard him start to purr, he knew that he would be ok for a bit. He had just realised that he didn't have any kitty litter for him. He didn't want to let Barry out for a few days until he was use to the cast and his new surroundings. He went to get the supplies and when he returned he found Barry wandering, albeit unsteadily in his living room toward the food bowls.

Leaving Barry to his breakfast, Callen went and set up the kitty tray in an area that he didn't use too much. It was well ventilated and there was plenty of room. Callen waited until Barry finished his meal before showing him the tray. When Barry started to scratch in it Callen left him to it and headed back out to the kitchen to make himself something to eat. After breakfast, Callen cleaned the tray and tidied the kitchen, then headed to work. He popped back at lunch, just to make sure that Barry was ok, and found him asleep on his chair. Wondering how he managed to get up there with the cast, Callen smiled and headed back to the office.

Later that week, after chasing a murderer into a dead end ally and catching her, Callen waited until Sam had lead the woman away out of ear shot before asking Deeks "Do you know how to make a pet door?"

Deeks looked at Callen "He's staying with you isn't he?"

"Yep, but I don't have a pet door at my place. So again, do you know how to make one?"

"Why not ask Sam?" Deeks was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"The same reason as last time"

"Fair enough. Saturday sound good?"

"Yeah." Callen was about to ask something else but was interrupted by Sam, asking where they were. The two men headed out of the ally and joined Callen's partner and the three of them and their prisoner headed off.

Saturday rolled around and Deeks pulled up outside Callens' place. He had gone to the hardware store and picked out a DIY pet door that should be big enough for Barry to get in and out but not big enough for anyone else to get in. He heard music coming from the house as he carried the box to the door. He paused a moment, trying to make out the singer; it was American and male, that was all he was sure of. He was about to knock when he heard a crash. He almost dropped the box and pulled his gun when he heard Callen's voice. He smiled as he heard the words.

"Barry, you drop that right now." Then Deeks smile fell slightly as Callen continued "My gun is not a chew toy."

The detective remembered that Barry had chomped on Callen's badge the night he had met him. He called out "Callen, you want some help?"

"If you open the door, it might startle him into dropping it." Callen's voice was level, as though anything else would send the cat racing off.

"Ah, if he drops it, it could go off." Deeks was a little worried at the plan.

"I was in the middle of cleaning it when he jumped onto the table and grabbed it."

"Ok. Opening the door." Deeks wondered how Barry had jumped onto the table with a broken leg that was in a cast. He opened the door a bit but it stopped as it hit Barry. The cat jumped, dropped the gun and took off. As he raced around a doorway, his cast slid out further than the rest of him on the linolium and he fish-tailed into a small table. The crash sounded like the one Deeks had heard as he came to the door. After picking himself up, Barry raced off again, another bang coming from somewhere as his cast hit a wall. Deeks opened the door the rest of the way and picked up the half assembled gun that Barry had dropped.

"Thanks." Said Callen as Deeks handed him the gun. He motioned for Deeks to come in and lead the way into the kitchen where Deeks saw there was a small table set up. Gun cleaning equipment and the rest of the parts were scattered on the floor with the cloth Callen used to keep the table clean. As Deeks put down the box, Callen reassembled the gun, checking that Barry and the drop hadn't done anything to it.

"How exactly did he get the gun?" It was really bothering him.

"He's still young, so he adapted fast. He figured out by lunch the next day how to jump onto my chair." Callen finished putting the gun together and holstered it as he spoke.

"That didn't answer my question." The blonde detective looked at the blonde Senior Agent in Charge. Both men were described as Alpha males by those that knew them. Both were the best at undercover work for their respective employers and both were experts at lying. They stood, locked in a staring contest until Barry snuck up behind Deeks and clapped his front paws around one of his ankles before racing off, his cast causing him to careen into the fridge as he took the corner.

Deeks yelped as something hit his ankle and jumped a foot in the air. He heard Callen burst out laughing and Barry hit the fridge. His heart was going a million miles an hour and he tried to calm down before he went into cardiac arrest. "You knew he was there!" He was certain it was the reason that Callen had not answered his question after he asked it the second time.

Callen was having trouble staying upright, and his breath was coming in bursts. "Yep. Oh, Deeks, you should have seen your face." He doubled over again as another fit of laughter shook him. He had seen his cat sneak up behind Deeks. The cat had managed to get his cast over the rattling grill on the floor in the doorway without a sound by holding it an unusual angle. Wanting to see what he would do, he didn't answer Deeks question when he asked it again. Instead he held the other man's gaze, watching Barry with his peripheral vision. The result was hysterical. "He was getting you back for startling him." His laughter mostly subsided, he managed to straighten up.

"If I remember rightly, it was your idea." The detective said. He was still trying to convince his heart not to head for the hills.

"Fine. Now what have you got here?" Callen sobered up and looked over at the box that Deeks had brought with him and saw the picture on the front.

"It should be big enough for Barry to use, even with his cast." Deeks, mostly recovered, picked up the box and took it to the back door. "I have a couple of tools in the back of my car we can use."

Callen and Deeks went to work on the door. While they worked, Barry played, grabbing tools and taking off with them; creating constant games of hide and seek and chasey. Which is why it took the two men all day to put in one pet door. Once they had shown Barry how to use the door, nothing but his leg stopped him from racing thought the door to the garden and back again. Callen and Deeks washed up and sat down to a couple of pizzas that Callen had heated up from his freezer. As they ate the pizza washed down with beer, they watched Barry run around. Occasionally, he would bring in a leaf, pulverize it then race out and bring in another one; or a small twig and crunch it into tiny pieces.

"Looks like you're going to have to sweep up before you hit the sack." Deeks motioned toward the growing pile of rubbish that Barry was bringing in with his bottle.

"I think I'll lock him in at night. He's more active then." Callen watched as his pet brought in another stick, this time it was nearly as long as he was and it had a lot of dried leaves on it. Callen stared as Barry backed up, crouched then pounced on the leaves, cast and all; scattering some, crushing others, sending more into the air and making a total mess. He sighed and shook his head. He looked back to Deeks and said, "I didn't answer your question before."

"What question?"

"The one about how he got into the table. Well he didn't exactly get onto the table. He managed to grab a hold of the cloth and pulled it off." Callen watched as Barry annihilated more leaves. He was going to need to get a vacuum cleaner.

"How did he get onto your chair. You mentioned it earlier."

"He still has one good back leg and he jumps like he normally would, but he uses his front paws more. He reaches up and grabs a hold of the seat and scrambles onto it." He did a reasonably good impression of Barry scrambling onto a chair that set both men laughing.

"You'd think that he was a dog in another life, the amount of sticks he's brought in." Deeks said, as he watched as Barry grabbed one of the smaller sticks and threw it into the air, catching it on the way down. His leg didn't seem to be giving him any trouble.

"Maybe he was." Callen answered distractedly. Deeks could see that he was too absorbed in watching his pet to take much notice of anything else.

The two men finished their beers and Deeks helped Callen clean up before he headed out.

"Thanks for everything Deeks." Callen held out his hand.

"No problem Callen." They shook hands. "By the way, the music that was playing when I came in, what was it?"

"Barry Manilow. He likes it" Callen shrugged in a way that meant _Don't ask, don't tell_ so Deeks left it at that.

Callen nodded his thanks, waved him off then set about trying to convince Barry not bring any more sticks in. It took him another hour to tidy up the mess and lock Barry in for the night. When he finally made it to bed, he fell asleep instantly, with Barry at his side, and not a single a dream or nightmare woke him.


	8. Caught!

Sorry for the delay in updating. Just saw the season three final and I totally agree with a lot of others in saying WHAT THE! Well there is a silver lining and that is it has changed how this story will end, for the better. (I hope.) Well, with out further ado, chapter 8.

Thanks to all those who have read and left a review, they make me smile :)

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It had been several weeks since Barry had broken his leg and Callen had just returned from the vet who had removed the cast. Deciding that the cat might like to visit the mission, Callen went there. He let himself in and opened the carrier that Barry was resting in. The orange cat jumped out and looked around the bull pen. Leaving him to reacquaint himself with the building, Callen went to his desk for a couple of files that Hetty had asked him to look over.

Just as he went to reach for them, Barry raced from behind him, jumped onto the desk, landing on the files. He and the files skidded across the top and Barry leapt off at the edge while the files scattered across the floor. Callen could have cursed at him, but was too happy that his pet had found that he had the use of both his back legs again. "Take it easy, Barry, or you'll break it again." he called out as the orange cat vanished into the darkness behind Hetty's office. He shook his head and continued to pick up the scattered files. He chuckled to himself as he listened to the claws skittering across the smooth floor as Barry rocketed around the OSP in the gloom.

He finished sorting out the files just as Barry poked his head out from behind Deeks' desk. "You ready to head home?" Callen asked, looking between the legs of his desk to where the bundle of energy was hiding. He could see the after being cooped up in Callen's home for the best part of six weeks, the not so little cat wanted to play by the slow swaying of his tail. He pulled out and tossed his keys to one side, the sudden noise distracting Barry long enough for Callen to disappear into the darkness.

Barry could see that his friend had finished tidying up the mess he had made with the files as he looked out from behind Deeks' desk. He thought that it would have taken longer. He wanted to stay a while longer. He had missed his home. Just as he was about to pounce from behind the desk at Callen, his friend threw something. It made a loud noise as it hit the floor and he looked toward it. After realising that it wasn't going to do anything, Barry looked back to where his friend was, only he wasn't there anymore. He heard movement in the kitchen behind him and spun round as Callen loomed out of the night toward him. Callen was making a weird noise and had his hands and arms stretched out toward him. Barry puffed up, hissed and took off in the opposite direction. He jumped over Kensi's desk, knocking over her neatly stacked pens cup. He tore under Nell's work station and sent the waste basket flying before he soared up the stairs to ops. He hid under Eric's desk, just inside the automatic doors and waited for Callen. He would get him back for the fright he had given him.

Callen snuck around behind Barry as the cat looked over toward the keys. Just as he was about to grab him, his shoes must have made a noise, as he turned toward him. Callen gave up on stealth and started to make a growling roar as he stretched out his hands to Barry. The effect was more than Callen was expecting. He watched with barely contained laughter as Barry made a mess of both Kensi and Nell's areas before tearing upstairs. He heard the doors leading to ops whoosh open and close as Barry entered the room.

He sobered as he contemplated on what to do. On one hand, he wanted to go up there and find out what sort of revenge Barry had in mind; on the other, he needed to get home and look over the files. He had been putting them off for the last couple of days as the appointment for getting Barry's cast removed came closer. He was sure his team mates had noticed his happy mood. He was not known for showing his feelings and the fact that he had a smile plastered all over his face had elicited some rather interesting comments from his team. He knew that Deeks knew the reason, his comment had lacked the underlying cat calls and wolf whistles that Kensi's and Sam's had.

He mentally tossed a coin. Home. It was Thursday night and Hetty had wanted his opinion on the files by the next morning. If he stayed here and tried to look at them, Barry would come down and get his revenge on the scare he had given him earlier, and after that, play for the rest of the night until Callen laid down on the couch. But if he went home, he could look over them in peace and come in early enough before the others so that they could finish what they started. Decision made, Callen collected the files, his keys from the floor and the cat carrier. "I'll be back later, Barry. Try not to mess up Eric's work station." He called over his shoulder as he left the office, making a mental note to tidy up Kensi's and Nell's desks when he came back.

Barry heard his friend leave; wondering what was going on, he cautiously went down the stairs. He made it to the hallway, just as the front door closed. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to see what was going on on the other side, he went back upstairs and jumped up to the permanently open window. Callen had found it for him to use shortly after he had arrived at OSP.

Once, the cleaners had closed it on him, trapping him inside all night. By the time Callen had arrived, before dawn, he was on the verge of using one of the potted plants for a bathroom. The moment Callen had opened the front door, Barry had raced out and found the nearest bush. After that, Callen had rigged the window so that it could never be closed. The opening was a good thirty feet from the ground, the nearest thing to it was a tree, a good ten feet away and no human could get into the building thru it because it was less than ten inches across and the window covered half the hole.

He jumped out and landed in the tree. Running down the trunk of the tree, Barry landed and headed toward the front of the building. By the time he got there, Callen was long gone. But there was another strange vehicle there. It was larger than Callen's car, and had a rather large white box on the back of it. There were also a lot of strange noises coming from it. He was about to head back inside, not liking this new vehicle, when a net landed on him. He jumped in fright, hissed, lashed out, yowled, anything to try and get the net off him. He heard a strange voice and he stopped fighting, the voice scared him into stillness. It was cold, and lifeless and devoid of the hidden spark of laughter that Callen's had.

He tried to curl up into a ball to escape it but the man the voice belonged to, scooped him up in the net and took him toward the vehicle. He opened a small door and dumped him inside. He landed on top of another cat that started scratch him, hissing the whole time. Barry lashed back and managed to get a swipe on the other cat's nose, stopping the other's fighting. Barry retreated into a corner of the cage and listened to the other noises in the box. There were a lot of other cats and a few dogs in other compartments and he could tell that they were all as frightened as he was.

The animal catcher was on a roll that night. He had seen the orange cat hanging around the condemned water treatment plant for several months, but had never been able to catch the blighter. He had kept disappearing into the window, thirty feet up. It had been condemned after the Northridge Quake so there was no way he was going in there just for one cat. He had never seen any other's there so he was content to wait until the cat slipped up and he had. The catcher had just gone over to the front door to see if the signs saying that it was condemned were still valid when he heard a small noise behind him. Out of habit, he had brought his net pole with him and was rather glad he had, because he saw the orange cat staring at his truck. Knowing that the noise the other animals he had caught that night would cover any sound he made, he swung the pole down and caught the cat.

It put up quite a fight but once he spoke, the cat calmed down and curled up into a ball. The catcher scooped him up and saw that he was still relatively young, not quite two years old. Unlike a lot of the other cats he had caught over the years, this one was quiet and looked well fed. Perhaps he had run away from home. Either way, the city tried to get people to adopt pets from shelters, the ones that were younger or who seemed more comfortable with people.

The man put the orange cat in with another young cat that could be adoptable. After the initial spat, the two calmed down and the man stowed his net, noticing that a couple of the lines had been broken. Making a mental note to get it fixed, he climbed into the cab and headed toward the nearest shelter.

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A/N: PLEASE don't hate me! Thrown objects are understandable (Cringe). Next chapter will reveal the "Long walks in the rain" Kensi mentions in 'Tin Soldiers'.

A/N2: Not sure how animal control officers in the US handle strays, but this is basicaly how they are handled here in Australia. Just me using common sense.


	9. Worried & Distracted

Author's Note: Apologies for the huge delay. Wrote some of this then hit a writer's block that lasted a while. I hope it's not too bad. Same with the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Nope, _Nada_ the only thing I own is Barry.

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Callen returned before dawn. He had read thru the files and had managed to grab a couple of hours sleep. He walked in and subconsciously ducked as he entered the bullpen. He was expecting Barry to come flying off something and landing on him before taking off. He hadn't meant to give the cat such a scare the night before. He had brought his favourite food to say sorry. He called out to his friend, setting up the bowls in a little used area that virtually no one noticed. After filling the bowls with food and water, Callen called out again. It never took this long for Barry to get back at him, let alone ignore his favourite tucker.

He was starting to get a little worried. Fearful that the cat had tried again to get to the chandelier, he headed over to the area and had a look behind ever pot, chair and desk. Not finding any sign of him, Callen looked up to the window he had sealed open. Noticing that it was still open, he ruled out the fact that he was stuck outside.

He was now scared. G. Callen didn't get scared when a crook had a gun pointed at him, a bomb strapped to themselves or was holding a friend hostage. Because he knew that he could get them out of it. But, now, he was scared because he didn't know what had happened to Barry. The cute little fur ball had gotten into his heart and he wasn't sure if he could cope with the fact that he'd had enough and left.

Callen had been sleeping better since Barry had first curled up next to him after that first case back. He had never been much of a sleeper. In every foster home he had ever been in, if you slept too deeply, it was all the worse for you. You could have your things stolen or worse. A light sleeper was a survivor. Having Barry curl up next to him, safe in the knowledge that Barry would wake him if the nightmares became too much; allowed his troubled mind to rest. He was feeling the best he had in years and he was certain it was due to Barry.

While wondering what could have happened, he wandered around, trying to find out what had happened. He nearly missed Hetty coming in. He smiled, asked how her morning was and told her of his thoughts regarding the files he had looked over earlier. He hoped that she didn't notice that he was slightly distracted, but then again, she knew everything. He went back to his desk and looked over to the area that he had placed Barry's bowls. He just managed to mask his face as the other members of his team arrived.

The day was busy, a Lieutenant had been killed and while the killer turned out to be his wife, she had led them on a merry chase all over the city. Sam noticed that Callen was distracted. It was little things, but it was worrying the bigger man. Callen had faltered at the front door of a suspect when a light orange cat raced thru the pet door between them. Callen had watched the cat disappear, nearly leaving Sam to burst into the room alone. The suspect had been home and nearly shot Deeks as he came in the back way before Sam noticed that Callen hadn't followed his usual line of clearing the left side of the room. Callen had entered a beat too slow and, if it weren't for the fact that they had been partners for several years, Sam wouldn't have noticed. Sam managed to take out the suspect, but not before she had managed to graze Deeks with a bullet. After they had cuffed the woman and Deeks was being attended to by paramedics, Sam pulled Callen aside. Something was affecting his partner. He was acting totally different than he was just yesterday.

"Hey, G. You ok?" he asked. He put a hand on his partner's shoulder and looked into his best friends' eyes. The blue spark in them was dull.

"Hm? Yeah, Sam, I'm fine." Callen was actually horrified that him not focusing on the case had nearly resulted in Deeks getting killed. He was **NOT** going to tell Sam the reason that he was off. He could hear the cogs turning in his friend's head. He knew that Sam would back off, if he gave him something. "Just got word that an old friend has gone missing." He shrugged and headed over to the ambulance that Deeks was being treated in, it was the truth.

_You don't have any old friends, at least not any that would cause you to be this distracted._ Sam thought to himself. Callen's tone was truthful, the words seemed to be as well. He still didn't know all the history and mystery the made up G Callen, so he left it at that; glad that Callen had at least given him something.

Callen was mortified that he had nearly gotten Deeks killed, all because he couldn't handle the fact that a cat had left him. He should be used to things leaving him. His mother, sister, father, Dom, other partners, had all left him. What does a single cat matter? He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, covered them with the patented Callen mask and thru a smirk over the top to finish it off.

"Hey Deeks. You alright?" he asked the detective when he arrived. Kensi was hovering, watching every move the medic made. He wanted to ask Deeks if had ever had a pet just leave, for no apparent reason, but with Kensi there and Sam watching behind him, he left it.

"Yeah, Callen, I'm good." He nodded toward the woman they had put into a squad car, "She say why she did it?" there had been no apparent motivation for the crime that they could find.

"Apparently she thought he was cheating on her, with the woman he met with on Tuesdays."

"His long lost sister?" Kensi spoke up. She had noticed that Callen had seemed off. She was worried about him. She had looked toward Sam when Callen had been talking to Deeks and saw him nod; whatever it was, Callen had talked to him about it and he was ok now. She focused again on Callen's response to her question.

"Yep, instead of asking him what was going on, she decided to simply kill him, save the lies." He looked back from the police car to Deeks "You sure you're ok?" he asked again.

"You know me, I always bounce back." Deeks sensed that Callen was worried about something, and by the looks Sam was throwing at his partner, he hadn't shared it with him. He had seen the subtle look that Sam had thrown Kensi and figured that he would have a talk with Callen before the day was over. He had a feeling he knew what it was. He had seen the same look the day after Barry had broken his leg. He was worried about his cat, but the fact that Callen hadn't gone home at lunch meant that Barry wasn't there. He had just had the cast removed last night, so unless he was the unluckiest cat in the world, something else had happened.

After being patched up by the medic and comments from Kensi about learning how to duck bullets, they headed back to OSP. Callen had been hauled to the gym by a determined Sam as soon as they had walked in. Over an hour later, he saw Sam come from the gym, a look of frustration on his face.

"He tell you anything?" Kensi asked. They all knew that if something was bothering Callen, a spar with Sam usually got him to open up about it.

Sam shook his head then looked up as they heard shots coming from the gun range. "He said not to worry about it. He mentioned that an old friend of his had gone missing." He sighed in annoyance as he looked to where his partner was no doubt obliterating a paper target, wishing it was a bad guy.

_So Barry vanished last night._ Deeks thought. He got up and headed into the kitchen area. He slipped behind a pillar out of sight from the others and headed toward the shooting range. He waited until Callen finished his clip before he entered, not wanting to get shot twice in one day. He walked up next to him and prepared a target of his own. "What happened?" he asked. Sending the target on its way, he got his gun out and ready, waiting for Callen to talk if he wanted.

"The cast came off, no problems, then I brought him back here. We played for a bit before I had to go." He emptied his clip. He heard Deeks do the same next to him, grateful to the man for understanding. He knew that Sam most likely would too, but he wouldn't understand the need for keeping it a secret from the others like Deeks did. He brought the target back and reloaded it and the clip. Sending it on its way again, he continued.

"When I came back this morning, I couldn't find him. I put his food out but he didn't show up." He paused a beat, sighed and asked the one thing that he wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Could he have just left?" not waiting for Deeks to answer, he unloaded the magazine. His gaze calm, cool, calculating.

Deeks looked over at the Senior Agent in Charge and put two and two together. Kensi had mentioned that he had lived in so many foster homes and then had gone from agency to agency as an adult that he expected things and people to just leave him when things got good. Callen guessed that Barry had just gotten bored with him and left. He finished the rounds in his gun and pulled off his ear protectors.

"I don't think that he would have just left. I've seen how much he likes to play with you. He may not have been overly happy at being cooped up at your place the last few weeks but he was with you, so he would have been comfortable." He reloaded his gun and continued

"When I first got my dog, he wasn't all that good. He was scared of a lot of things, even me, until he realised that not all people are out to hurt him." Deeks could hear that Callen was listening as the noises of loading the magazine were slow, quiet.

"He eventually let me take him to a park and found that he had a great time, but I could tell that he had more fun when it was just the two of us at home. Barry's a bit like that. He enjoys his time with you more than being alone. If he's not here, someone or something is stopping him from coming back." He turned to Callen then and saw that the older man was looking at him. "What?"

"You should have been a pet version of Nate." Callen had a million thoughts in his head. If Barry had been taken, he would find the SOB and make him pay and if he had been … he couldn't think like that. Then he heard Deeks gasp as he reached up and pulled down the target that he had shredded. "I'm sorry, you right?"

"I'm fine, why are you sorry?" Deeks had just heard Callen apologize, but oddly enough, he had no smart comeback.

"I was distracted."

"By?"

"An orange cat. It raced out of the house just as we were about to open the door. I wasn't fast enough to take him out."

"It's ok, these things happen." Deeks shrugged it off and turned back to the target. But when he heard Callen's next words, they chilled his spine.

"No, it's not ok." Callen's voice was dark, dull; Deeks had never heard it like that before except when he was undercover. "I could have gotten you killed. This is why I don't do pets."

Deeks tried to lighten the mood by smirking "It has nothing to do with the fact that until now you've never had a house?" The only response he got was Callen opening fire on the paper at the other end of the range. He barely got his ear covers on before Callen pulled the trigger. His face was dark, annoyed; again something that he rarely showed. He watched as Callen replaced his clip and tidied the area before leaving.


	10. Found!

Author's Note: Two chapters in one night, wow. Yawn what? That's the time! I'd better get to bed. … After I post this. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nope, Bugger

Callen heard Deeks gasp and remembered that he had been hurt because he, G Callen had been distracted, by a cat of all things. He was furious at himself. If it wasn't for Sam, Deeks could have died. He realised that it was another thing on his list of things not to get attached to. Over the last few years, he had diminished the list, allowing first Gibbs followed by Hetty, then Sam, Kensi and Deeks into his life. He tried to make Deeks see that he should have been focusing on what was happening around him, not mourning over something that he knew would leave him. His walls slammed up as he opened fire on the target. He cleaned up his brass and left the range.

He grabbed his jacket and headed out. He needed a run. He needed to clean the fog of worry and sadness that had enveloped him. It was a cat of all things. A CAT! He couldn't believe that an animal had penetrated his defences so much that it was affecting his ability to do his job. As he ran, the heavens opened up. What started out as a gentle shower soon turned into a monsoon. He was drenched to the skin within seconds, but he kept running. He ran until he dropped to his knees with exhaustion, tears flowing as fast and hard as the rain on his face.

Sam watched as Callen ran from the building, pausing only to grab his jacket. He was about to follow him, when a quiet voice came from his hip.

"Leave him be, Mr Hannah." Hetty had snuck up on him and made him jump. She had seen the way that Callen had been acting all day. She had checked the security footage from last night and knew what had happened. She had been about to enter the gun range to inform Callen what had transpired when she had heard Deeks say that Barry wouldn't leave with no good reason.

She had listened to the rest of the conversation and only just managed to get out of the way as Callen raced from the room. She didn't have a chance to call out to him as she saw him leave the building. She knew that his partner would see him leave and would race after him. She also knew that Callen needed to be alone to try and figure out what he would do and would not appreciate Sam's 'mothering' as Callen put it. She doubted that Sam even knew about Barry.

"He needs to be alone right now."

"Hetty, what's going on?" Sam asked as he saw Deeks come from the gun range. He was sure the detective had gone to get a cup of coffee when he had headed to the kitchen earlier.

"Leave him be." She simply repeated and left them to their paperwork.

"Deeks, what's going on?" Sam tried to get the younger man to tell him. The fact that Callen had spoken to the LAPD liaison and not his partner riled him.

"That's for Callen to answer." Deeks looked at Callen's partner and saw the hurt there. "It's, we have, ugh," he struggled to try and tell Sam something that wouldn't give anything away. He knew that Callen hadn't told Sam about Barry and he certainly wasn't going to, not without permission. "It's about something that you wouldn't understand, Sam. And the more you dig, the further you'll push Callen away. Give him time and he'll tell you." He sighed as Sam looked as though he would argue and left the bullpen. The sound of the heavy rain followed him as he headed up the stairs to Eric and Nell. He was almost to the top when he thought about what he was doing. He had planned on asking them to look at the security footage from last night to try and figure out what happened but then realised that he would be breaking the promise he had made to Callen. He turned and headed back down the stairs. He ignored the looks of Sam and Kensi and collected his things and headed out. He had just gotten into his car to go and look for Callen when he had another thought.

His neighbour had called out to him a few days previous when he had taken Monty for a run. He said to put a collar on him as an animal control van had been seen driving around a few blocks over. Monty didn't like collars, but he had put one on him when he went on runs after that, just in case Monty raced off after something and was caught. He knew that Callen wouldn't have put a collar on Barry. He wouldn't have thought about it. He jumped as thunder cracked close and made a decision to check the shelters. He put the car into gear and headed off to the one he had gotten Monty from. He didn't know where they all were, but the staff there would, it wasn't much, but it was a start.

Barry didn't like the room where he was. It was small, noisy and there were a lot of other cats. There were a lot of people coming and going. They all wanted to pick him up, he didn't like getting picked up and he let them know by hissing at them until they dropped him or backed up. He backed himself into a corner and tried to hide behind a funny table that had several levels.

He didn't know what was happening but he was hoping that his friend would come for him soon, he had been since the night before last and he wanted to go home. He would even be happy to see the other man, the one that had helped Callen put in the door for him. He knew that he liked Callen's friend. He was kind and had demons of his own that he wrestled with at night. That first night he had met him, he had helped him to keep the demons away. He smelt dog on him and knew that the other man usually had the dog to help keep the nightmares at bay.

Barry backed up as another person came toward him, with a carrier. The woman grabbed him and despite his hissing, she dropped him into the carrier. After a short trip she opened the door and he jumped out into a cage. The woman pulled the carrier out and closed the door to the cage before Barry could escape. He looked around and saw that the room he was in was large and white. There were several other cages like the one he was in. Some had cats, others had dogs and even more were empty.

He had a drink of water from the bowl and was about to curl up and try and get some sleep when the door to the room opened. He heard a voice he recognised and tried to poke his head out of the cage to get closer. He knew that he was going home now and he was so happy that his purring, when the man stroked him, rattled the cage.

Deeks had gone the shelter where he had found Monty. He looked at the cats that had been brought in in the last 24 hrs but didn't see Barry. He asked the staff for the addresses of the other places and started to check them out. He was getting worried after not finding him in the first couple.

The next morning was Saturday and at the first one he visited that morning, he asked the staff if they could help him ring a few of the others. He told them a little of the story of Barry and Callen and they readily agreed. After almost two hours and several dozen phone calls later, one of the young interns called out that she had a cat that could match Barry. He had been brought in the night before last and he didn't like to be picked up. The staff were on the verge of having him declared as unadoptable. When they had been asked if it looked as if he had just had a cast removed from his back leg and they answered yes, Deeks cheered. He took the phone from the girl and spoke to the man on the other end. He asked if they could put Barry somewhere until he arrived. The shelter was only three miles from the mission and Deeks was fifteen minutes from it.

He hurried over. He approached the desk and asked to speak to the man he had been talking to on the phone. He was shown to Barry and Deeks couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him.

"Hey you, what trouble have you been getting up to this time?" Deeks chuckled as Barry's head shot up at his voice. The cat didn't know him as well as Callen, but any voice that was familiar would have been a comfort for him. He laughed as the cat's purring started to rattle the cage as he patted him. He opened the door and gently picked him up. He heard the staff behind him gasp and figured that they thought that his arms were about to get ripped as Barry fought to get out of his grasp. "He doesn't know you." Was all he said. He hugged the still purring cat to his chest and headed out of the room. As he paid for the day and half that Barry had been there, he spotted something that he couldn't resist buying. He chuckled as he informed the staff of what he wanted and paid for it as well.

"Now, let's get you back home." Deeks had swung past home on his way to Monty's shelter and picked up the carrier that he had and placed the cat in it. He secured it in the back seat and headed back to the mission. He arrived and looked around the parking garage. He didn't see any of the teams' cars, not even Callen's. Deeks hoped that he would come in at some point over the weekend. He couldn't wait to see the look on Callen's face when he found his pet had returned to him. He let himself in and let Barry out of the carrier.

"Now, behave yourself and take it easy on Callen. He was worried about you." Deeks found his food bowls and replenished them with fresh food and water. It was just after 1400 and he knew that if Callen was going to show up it would be after dark. He went back outside and hid his car several blocks away. He wanted to be there if and when Callen came in. He knew that Callen had the most paperwork of the four of them, a con of being the team leader. So he knew that he would come in at some point over the weekend to tackle it before Hetty came after him on Monday for it.

He found a spot that had a good overview of the bullpen and the front door and got comfortable. He didn't want to interact with Barry too much. The cat seemed content to simply fall asleep on the couch. Deeks understood that. It was a comfortable couch and it was a lot quieter here than at the shelter. And it was home to the cat.

Callen drove into the car park just after 1900 hours and paused before entering the building. He had wound up nearly ten miles from the mission after his run and it had taken him several hours walking to get back. He had left his phone behind. Although, since the rain hadn't let up while he was running, it was probably a good thing. It would have drowned otherwise. He arrived to find that everyone had headed home for the day. He locked up, making a mental note to come in the next day at some point and finish the paperwork.

Now, he didn't want to enter. He had loved working at the NCIS OSP for the past several years. He had made friends. He even went so far as to call them family. Things were going great. But he knew that like everything else in his life, it would come to an end. He was just waiting for the first thing to leave. It had nearly been Hetty, after her near resignation because of Dom's death several months earlier. He stayed. But now, Barry had vanished. He was hurt. He had never been hurt this way before. If it hurt this much over a cat, he didn't want to know how much it would hurt if Hetty left for good, or Sam or Kensi, even Deeks had made a place for himself in Callen's miss-matched family. Maybe it was time to move on. NCIS was the job he had been with the longest. He didn't know why, there were a couple of agencies that he hadn't worked for yet and it wasn't too late to … _was that a bell?_

Callen had entered the building during his musings and had taken a seat at his desk. He had pulled some files toward him but hadn't made any move to reading thru them. He had just been looking at them when the sound of a bell broke through his thoughts. He looked around, wondering where it was coming from when it got louder behind him. He was turning to look when he was knocked forward by something hitting him on the shoulder. He pushed himself up and looked at the orange cat sitting on his desk.

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A/N Have fixed a small error in this one. I mentioned Hetty's trip to Romania, but that happens in at the end of season two.


	11. Can anyone else hear, bells?

Author's Note: I have no excuses for my atrocious lack of updating other than the fact that … nope wait, that isn't one either. Sorry. Here goes. This chapter is set right before 'Tin Soldiers', enjoy!

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"Barry?" he asked the cat sitting in front of him. It couldn't be Barry. Barry was gone. And Barry did not have a blue collar on his neck. This was an interloper, a vagabond. He reached over to the cat to push him off his desk when the cat ducked under his hands, and ran towards his face. Callen was so shocked at the speed of the cat that he didn't see the paw until it made contact with his nose. BAP! The bell tinkling as he moved.

Callen sat back, startled. He looked at the cat, his paw still raised, ready to give Callen another tap to adjust his head. "Barry? That really you?" He couldn't believe it. There was no way that Barry had come back. Things like this just didn't happen to him. He reached out to the cat to stroke him. He reached under his neck to the spot that Barry liked best and was rewarded with a deep rumbling purr that rattled the pens on his desk. He grabbed his beloved pet and held him close to his chest, tears flowing from his eyes as he stroked Barry and mumbled to him in Russian.

The purring got stronger, and Deeks could hear it from across the room. He saw several emotions play across Callen's face. Shock, anger, shock again followed by relief, joy and happiness. He smiled and left the two of them to catch up. He knew that Callen would quickly figure out how Barry had returned. Well he did leave a pretty big clue. He headed out the back and quietly walked back to his car. Monday morning was going to be very interesting. Very interesting indeed.

Callen gathered his pet up and went over to the couch. He lay down and placed Barry next to him, under the crook of his arm. He stroked his pet and felt the collar under his fingers. He sat back up and moved it around to look at the tag hanging from it next to the little silver bell. The side he was looking at contained the number for the alias that he used at his home. He turned it over and was a little taken back by what was on the other side. (My Name is Barry D). Callen looked around suddenly to see if he could see the detective anywhere. After a moment he figured that he had left after dropping Barry off.

He rubbed his thumb over the name tag for several moments before he noticed a piece of paper wrapped around the collar. He carefully pulled it off and read the small note written there in Deeks handwriting.

Callen, I told you that there were a lot of things that Barry needed to go to the vet for, and getting him a microchip and a collar were just two of them. The animal catcher had gotten a hold of him. You're lucky that I was told that he was making his rounds in this area.

Callen smiled and patted Barry. He sent a silent thanks to the detective and thought about how he could properly thank the man. He wondered how he had found Barry and decided that a lunch at a restaurant the next day would be the best way to find out. He fired off a quick text message then lay down next to a purring Barry and instantly fell asleep.

Deeks had just put the key into the lock of his apartment when he got a text message. He looked at it and smiled. He fired off a response and headed in for the night. The last two days had been tiresome and he was still recovering from the bullet wound. He had a shower and wondered what the two friends had got up to after he left. He put the pondering to one side and after feeding Monty, headed to his bed.

Callen woke the next morning, still in the same position as when he had laid down. It was the first time in two days that he had been able to get a decent nights' sleep. He never realised how much of a comfort Barry was at night. The cat would find his tension points and lay on them. His purring would loosen any knots there and his body heat would warm away any pain he had. He opened his eyes, noticing that he hadn't woken from a nightmare like he usually did. He stared at the ceiling and pondered.

He couldn't believe that he had been on the verge of resigning from NCIS. It would mean that everything that had happened here; finding friends, learning to trust someone to have his back, creating a family that cared about him; would have been lost. He would have destroyed his family.

He was shocked from his thoughts when Barry whacked his nose again. "You know, my nose is going to be permanently bent out of shape if you keep doing that." He said as he rubbed the side of his nose with one hand and patted his cat with the other. He sat up and took the cat over to his feed bowls. He noticed that they were full and guessed that Deeks had found and filled them.

When Hetty had first approached him regarding appointing Deeks as a liaison between NCIS and LAPD, he thought that she hadn't been serious. After a few weeks however, and especially after rescuing him from the traffickers, Callen found himself liking the man and could see what Hetty had in regards to what the man could bring to the team.

Lunch later that day was uneventful. Callen took Deeks to one of his favourite places on the water front that actually served beer with the meals. They talked about the extraordinary things their pets had done for them, things they had heard others do and about anything that didn't involve work. Deeks told Callen about how he had found Barry and how happy the cat had been to see a familiar face.

Monday morning rolled around and Callen as usual was early. He found Hetty already at her desk.

"Mr Callen, have a good weekend?" she had watched the video footage of Saturday night and knew what had happened. She wanted to hear from him how he was doing.

"I'm good." Callen had a pretty good idea that Hetty knew what had happened. He reassured the older woman that he was fine by nodding; then he turned his head as he heard the bell from Barry's collar. He was up in the roof again, and by the sounds of it, following him. He was about to let Hetty know about the bell when Sam, Deeks and Kensi walked in.

Deeks had seen Callen nod to someone just out of sight _pretty sure that's Hetty_ as he walked in and heard the bell that he had put on Barry. "Who finally managed to put the bell on Hetty?" he called out, as though he had no idea that Hetty was just there.

"Perish the thought, Detective Deeks. If there was a bell on me, no one here would have been able to do it." she had a feeling that the young man had known she was there and had said it to draw attention away from the bell and onto himself so that no one would have to explain what was going on. She wagged her finger at him as he blushed and dipped his head as Kensi elbowed him while Sam and Callen sniggered.

The day was as interesting as Deeks thought it would be. Every time Callen moved, the sound of the bell followed him. Just as Sam and Kensi started to notice that fact, the bell started to follow him too. Then after a while, Hetty. _It seems that Barry is following those who had helped him. Hetty for allowing him to stay, me for finding him and Callen for loving him and giving him a home._ Deeks thought as the bell followed Hetty to the kitchen, then turned after him as he headed to the gun range. _His sense of smell must be remarkable to be able to tell us apart when he can't even see us._

Deeks saw Callen hide a smirk or a smile on more than one occasion throughout the day as Sam and Kensi and the other staff tried to find the source of the noise. Even Deeks had a hard time of keeping it together as one time Kensi spotted her usually neat desk in complete disarray after coming back from lunch. Callen and he had been the first to walk back in afterwards and had seen the cat jump onto her desk, scattering files and then jump onto the ironwork above her desk, knocking over her pen holder and making more of a mess. He then sat there for several minutes, while she ranted at her partner about leaving her things alone.

Deeks would have been a little more defensive if it weren't for the fact that he knew that Barry was getting her back for replacing one of his pens with one that squirted ink out of the top when you went to write something. He guessed that Barry had seen her hanging around his desk shortly before he got covered in ink and put two and two together. He was rather smart for a cat.

Callen was having the time of his life. He was finding it very hard to keep a straight face every time Barry and his bell moved. After the incident of messing up Kensi's desk, Barry had stayed out of the ceiling. He managed to keep out of everyone's line of sight either by staying up high or behind the couch or behind others. More than once he head the bell as Barry followed someone for a bit until they figured out the noise was coming from behind them and turned around. Only to find nothing there.

He had gotten very good very fast at stopping the bell from making any noise. Callen wasn't sure how he was doing it, but figured he would soon find out. He watched as Barry followed one of the tailors from one end of the room to the other until the man noticed the noise and turned to find the source. Barry tucked his chin against his neck, silenced the bell and jumped up onto the top of a shelf. Mystery solved. The cat stayed there for the rest of the afternoon until everyone had left for the night.

Once he had fed Barry, Callen headed home, only to find someone snooping in his house.

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Author's Note: Anyone pick up on the bell comment Deeks makes? Couldn't resist.


	12. Wondering and Chasey

Author's Note: First things first, SOOOO SORRY for the delay. Life kinda got a little crazy. And I didn't have access to my computer to continue the story for a while. Computer's apparently need a doctor occasionally. Secondly, this is nearly finished, maybe two more chapters left. Thirdly, a HUGE HUGE thanks to all those who have reviewed, alerted and added this story to their favourites and have stuck with my atrocious updating. Thank you all so much.

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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After the shootout at the stadium, Callen knew that it was only a matter of time before the others found out about Barry. Kensi had come alarmingly close in her fake fortune telling and Deeks had had a hard time of keeping a straight face. As he sat patting Barry late on a Saturday afternoon, he pondered about how to tell Sam and Kensi. Sam might understand the reason about keeping the little guy to himself, but he was never going to hear the end of it from his former student. He sighed, lent back against the couch and closed his eyes.

He jerked awake a couple of hours later when he heard the front door open. He stood as Barry took off for his hidey hole in the ceiling. Even after nearly two years, he still didn't like other people. Except Deeks. Callen didn't know when the little cat had allowed the surfing detective into his life, but he had. And by allowing him in, he had helped Callen to allow Deeks into his own life; something that no doubt would have taken a lot longer without the orange tabby. He headed over to the kitchen to put the kettle on. _Whoever it was will want it if they were here this late on a Saturday night. _He thought as he pulled a cup down to make himself a cup of tea. It was too late, in his opinion, for coffee, unless you were on a stakeout and need to stay awake.

Deeks entered the mission in a bad mood. He had meant to bring a report back to the mission after taking Monty for a run the day before, but the dog had turned the run into a game of catch-me-if-you-can with the keys to his front door at the end of it. He hadn't been mad until he realised that the game had driven all thoughts of the report from his mind until an hour ago. What had brought it back was that the same report was now scattered around the living room floor, in shreds. Apparently Monty had gotten bored waiting for him to get back from a date. So here he was, late on a Saturday night, at work.

He was soooo not happy.

He pushed the door shut behind him as he heard the pens scatter across Kensi's desk as Barry no doubt jumped from it to the ironwork and into the roof. He chuckled and called out "Its only me guys." He had seen Callen's car outside and figured that the older agent was spending the night. He hadn't been home in a while. Not since the guy broke into his house. He went straight to the kitchen and saw Callen pull a cup down from the cupboard.

"Well, well, if it isn't Marty Deeks, surfer, detective and by the looks of it, human paper shredder." Callen nodded to the papers that Deeks held in his hand.

"Dog ate my homework, Sir." Deeks chuckled as he shook the remnants of the report in the air. Callen raised his eyebrows so Deeks explained and they both laughed. Deeks nodded when Callen raised a cup to him and went to put the scraps into the incinerator while Callen made him a cup of coffee.

When he returned to his desk, the team leader had put the coffee on his desk. He sighed as he drank it.

"What is it?" Callen had heard the sigh from across the room where was patting Barry. The cat had come down once he had realised that it was just Deeks, scattering Kensi's pens again. After Callen had tidied it up for a second time, he sat with the tabby on the couch; quietly stroking his pet, keeping Deeks company.

"Redoing a report was the last thing I thought I'd be doing on a Saturday night." He sat forward and started up his laptop. He worked on the report for a couple of hours before he was shoved forward.

With the breath knocked out of him, he looked up at the orange cat that now stood in front of him. His tail was swaying slightly, looking back over his shoulder at the blonde detective. "What the…?" Deeks looked over behind him where Barry had come from and heard the chuckle Callen gave as he rounded the corner from the kitchen.

"He thought you looked horrendously bored with that report. I've tried to keep him occupied for the last hour to stop him from doing just that." Callen had no interest in telling Deeks that he had picked the cat up and headed into the kitchen, looking for all intent and purposes to be making another cup of tea. Once he had passed Deeks he backed tracked and had lightly tossed the heavy cat onto Deeks shoulders before retreating quickly behind the corner.

The cat had indeed been looking like he wanted to do something, but knowing Barry like he did; it would probably involve the computer ending up on the floor in pieces and Deeks' report never getting finished. At least this way, the computer was left intact. Callen had seen the same thing Barry had, that the liaison was getting frustrated with the report. Knowing that it wouldn't be long before Barry took matters into his own hands, or paws as the case was, Callen decided to take action.

"What do I do?" While he had played with Barry on occasion, it was after being invited by Callen, and he had never started any games. He looked at the cat, who was now sitting with his head tipped to one side, as though saying, _Well, what are you waiting for? _Deeks looked back at Callen and saw that he was doing the same thing, head tipped to one side.

"Well, since he frightened you, why not return the favour?"

Deeks thought for a second; then shot out of his chair and toward the feline without warning. He nearly caught a hold of the tail as his speed had caught the tabby unawares. Barry fled from the bullpen, scattering first Sam's pens then Kensi's for a third time in as many hours as he jumped over the iron work and raced off into the gloom of the mission. Deeks and Callen shared a look then split up to try and corner the cat.

The game of chasey lasted for nearly thirty minutes until Barry shot around a corner and skidded to a stop when he saw Deeks in front of him. He backed up and was about to head back the other way, when Callen appeared behind him. He stopped for a moment as he thought about what to do. With Deeks in front of him, on one side of the corner and Callen behind, on the other side and a solid brick wall to his left, the only option to him was the railing surrounding Hetty's desk to his right. He heard both Callen and Deeks move to get him and he made a move of his own, making both men speed up. Neither must have been able to hear the other because as they saw each other, it was too late for them to stop their head long mad dash and they crashed into each other, while Barry simply jumped from between them at the last second onto the railing. He turned around on it with a smug look on his face, ready for the game to continue, only to stop. If cats could look horrified, Barry did at what was in front of him on the floor.

Both men were laying sprawled on the cold tiled surface, and they weren't moving.

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Author's Note: I hope this is ok. Will post again soon. So long as life doesn't get in the way again.


	13. Crashes and Discovery!

AN: Well here's a second chapter for the night. Not something I had planned on doing but I just couldn't stop writting. Thanks again to those who have stuck with me. This starts before Callen and Deeks knock each other out.

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Hetty had been in the process of getting ready for bed when an alarm sounded from her computer. She went over and saw that Deeks had joined Callen at the mission. Ever since the first time that Deeks had found out about Barry, she had always watched the interaction between the two men when the cat was involved. They were always highly entertaining, so putting off bed for a bit, she sat on her couch and continued a knitting project she had started the week before.

She kept an eye on the computer and was rewarded with seeing Callen toss Barry onto an unsuspecting Deeks. She had a hard time after that of holding her knitting needles while she laughed at the game of chasey that had started between the three of them. She sobered somewhat after half an hour when she didn't see Barry come around a corner. She adjusted the screen to another camera, but still couldn't see him. She could see, however, Deeks looking toward the area that Barry had vanished into, then Callen came into view from another direction and look in the same region.

She reasoned that Barry had ended up in the blind spot the Callen had discovered with in those first few days of being back at work two years ago. She watched as both men started to run toward the cat. She realised that neither man had seen nor heard the other, which was confirmed when they both disappeared into the blind spot, and didn't reappear. She waited a few minutes more, but after five minutes and not a thing, she reached for her phone.

Sam had had a wonderful Saturday with his family. He was now curled up next to his wife and was almost asleep when his phone went off. He looked at the number and jumped out of bed, heading for the closet as he answered. There was only one reason Hetty was calling him at this time of night. A case, and a bad one.

"What's happened?" was the first thing he asked when he answered.

"Mr Callen and Detective Deeks were at the office this evening. They entered a blind spot six minutes ago and I have not seen them since. I need you to go over and make sure that everything is ok." She sounded worried. "I will contact Kensi and have her meet you there. I will have paramedics on standby three blocks away if they are needed." She ended the call without giving Sam a chance to ask what they were doing at the mission on a Saturday. Informing his wife that an emergency had come up at work, he headed off.

Kensi had had a nice Saturday being pampered at spa. She had met a couple of other visiting agents from NCIS Washington and had invited them out for drinks after. She had had a good time being herself, not a cover and the time flew. Now she had been snuggled under the sheets for all of ten minutes when her phone went off. Not even bothering to look at the caller she knew that it was work.

"Yeah," was her response as she went to the cupboard.

"Miss Blye, Mr Callen and Detective Deeks have vanished from headquarters about ten minutes ago, I have called Mr Hannah and he will meet you there."

"What happened?" Kensi was worried about Callen. It had been a strange few days leading up to the shoot-out at the stadium. She knew that he hadn't stayed at his house since then, but Callen being Callen, kept how he was handling it to himself.

"Not sure, they went into a blind spot in the area surrounding my office and I haven't been able to pick them up since. Make sure that they are ok."

"Will do Hetty." Kensi grabbed her gun and headed out the door.

Sam had arrived first. He walked the perimeter waiting for Kensi and found it was all clear aside from the cars belonging to Callen and Deeks. When he returned to the front door he found Kensi waiting, gun drawn.

"What do you know?" he asked her.

"Just that Callen and Deeks vanished in a blind spot near Hetty's office and that she hasn't seen them since. What was she doing watching them at this time of night."

"The better question is, what were they doing here at this time of night?" Sam asked in return as they approached the front doors.

Sam pulled the doors open and allowed Kensi to enter then followed. They made their way down the walkway, their flashlights showing them that there was something on the floor next to Hetty's office. As they got closer they noticed movement and Kensi called out "Federal Agents! Hands up!"

The orange cat, caught in the beams of their torches, stood stock still for a moment, then took off toward the bullpen, the sound of a bell following it as it jumped onto the iron work behind Kensi's desk then vanished into the celling. Kensi and Sam followed it with their torches until it disappeared then brought them back to the thing on the floor in front of them. Only they could now see that it was two things, one on top of the other.

20 minutes earlier…

Callen spotted Barry next to Hetty's office. He was in the blind spot that Callen had found years ago, one of the few in the security system. He started to walk toward him. When Barry made a move toward her desk, Callen sped up, not wanting to give him the chance to jump onto her desk and knock off one of her tea pots. As he came past the post, he noticed Deeks heading toward him. The tiled floor didn't help him as he tried to stop.

Then it was too late, Deeks crashed into him. He felt his head hit the floor, hard and as darkness took him, he saw Barry jump calmly onto the railing. His last thought as he, with Deeks on top of him, slid across the floor, was that Barry might break the rose patterned tea pot that he had seen her leave out on Friday.

Deeks saw Barry slide around the corner and stop as the cat noticed him. While Barry had started the whole thing, Deeks meant to finish it. He needed to get back to his report. The thing wasn't going to write its self. He moved toward the cat then picked up the pace when he noticed the subtle move the cat made toward the railing. Just as he reached the corner, he saw, then crashed into Callen. The two hit the floor, and Deeks heard Callen's head hit the tiles hard. As they slid along, Deeks noticed the pillar in front of him, but then it was too late to do anything. His head made contact with it and the last thing he thought of was _Not again._

Barry looked at the two men on the ground in front of him. They weren't moving. He called out to get their attention, just in case they were foxing him. Neither moved. He jumped down and batted first Callen's then Deeks' noses for several minutes, to no avail. He yowled loudly in their ears to try and wake them up, but got no response. He was now really worried.

He figured that they would hate him for what he was about to do but he had to try. He brought out his claws and took a swipe at Callen's arm. Nothing. He moved to try Deeks when lights hit him and a female voice yelled at him. He knew that it was one of the people that Callen and Deeks worked with. With the lights in his eyes, he couldn't make out the other person, but he recognised the scent as another co-worker. Knowing that they would be able help his friends better than he could, Barry sprinted for the ceiling.

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AN: Hope this is ok. Still a couple of chapters to go. Will be sad when this is finished :(


	14. Explanations and Stories

Well, here we go. Another chapter. As I was writting this I suddenly realised that I mentioned in chapter 10 a little bit about the begining of season three, this is set before then, so I've gone back and changed it.

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Kensi and Sam ignored the cat and made their way closer to Callen and Deeks. They didn't know what had caused what they saw but they could see the result. Callen was on his back, head to one side, one arm at a bad angle. Deeks was lying across Callen's chest, his head next to a pillar. After making one final sweep of the area, they put their guns away and went to the aid of their friends. They sighed with relief as they found pulses on their respective partners.

Sam helped Kensi move Deeks off Callen and then looked them over for injury. Deeks had a lump forming on his forehead from hitting the pillar. Callen's shoulder had dislocated when Deeks crashed into him. His head also had a lump forming from hitting the floor. Both he and Kensi spent a couple of minutes trying to get them to wake up without success.

Sam sent Kensi for the cold packs in the first aid kit a second before his phone started to ring, startling him. He saw that it was Hetty and answered with "They're out cold but alive. There was a cat sitting on Deeks' back and Callen looks like he has scratch marks on his arm from it. Looks like they were trying to catch it but crashed into each other instead."

"Figures. They are probably the only two people in the world that knock each other out while playing chasey with that cat, and this makes it twice." Sam heard her mutter under her breath. "Have you got the ice packs?" she asked, to try and draw his attention away from the question she was sure was coming.

"Yeah, Kensi's gone to get them. What …" his question died on his lips as Deeks groaned and came around. "Deeks just woke up."

"Call me when you know what happened." Hetty ended the call.

Kensi was heading back to the others when she heard Deeks talking to Sam. She let out a sigh of relief but it was short lived when she rounded the corner and saw that Callen was still out of it. She knelt down next to the older man and broke the packet to make it go cold and held it on the lump she could see forming. She handed a pack to Sam and listened as Deeks told them about what happened.

"We were playing chasey. Barry rounded the corner and I went for him. Callen must have been on the other side because I never saw him until he past the post. The last thing I remember was that it was déjà vu all over again." He rubbed his head, trying to work out the knot that was forming. His head suddenly snapped up and he looked around them. "Where is he?" he asked Sam and Kensi.

"Who? You and Callen were the only ones here. And who's Barry." Sam was trying to check Deeks' eyes for any sign of concussion, but the younger man was making it hard by trying to look around for something.

"Orange cat, likes listening to Barry Manilow, blue collar with bell." Callen wasn't up to making complete sentences yet. He pushed the pack away that Kensi was holding on his head with his good hand after he discovered that he had dislocated the right arm. He looked at his left arm and saw the scratch marks. He realised that it was the pain from the scratches more than the salts that woke him up. He looked around and instantly regrated it, his head exploded with pain and he lowered it to the ground with a groan.

"Where is he?" he managed to turn his head toward the other man on the ground next to him without too much pain.

"I can't see him. He must have got clear before we hit." Deeks finally held his head still long enough for Kensi to check him out. Sam was trying to do the same for his partner but Callen was doing the same thing Deeks had a moment earlier, looking around as much as he could without moving too much.

Callen held up the arm that Barry had scratched "Remember when I said he didn't like it when people were unconscious?"

Deeks looked over and winced, "Ouch!"

"Yeah." He held the arm over his head and looked at it in a bemused way. "Could have been worse." He said a moment later.

"How's that?" Deeks asked as he slid over next him and helped Sam get him to a sitting position against the pillar Deeks had hit.

"Could have been my nose."

"Ah." Was all the detective could say.

Sam and Kensi watched and listened to their two friends as though they were speaking some bizarre language. They looked at each other and were about to ask what they were talking about when Sam's phone rang again.

"Hannah." Sam paused to listen to his boss as she inquired as to the condition of the other two men. "Well they're both awake but talking about … no, no sign of concussion, a couple of bumps and G's dislocated his right shoulder. I think we got it covered, no need for the medics or a trip to the hospital." Sam looked at the phone as the dial tone sounded as Hetty hung up on him.

Now he was really wanting to know what the others were talking about. He turned back to the men to ask, but the question died on his lips as they were looking past him at something in the walkway that lead from the front doors.

There, with a single bulb above him, was an orange tabby cat. He was sitting as still and as straight as a post. He was looking at the two men between Sam and Kensi, one paw slightly raised, as though he was about to take a step toward them, head dipped to one side. Sam looked back at Callen and Deeks and saw that their attention was solely on the cat. Deeks' face showed relief that the cat was ok, while Callen's had broken out in a huge grin and his eyes were full of relief and joy. Sam was about to ask what was going on when the bulb flickered out for a second as the power surged from the storm that had been building. When it came back on a second later, the cat was gone and Callen and Deeks faces were blank.

"What is going on, G?"

"Nothing, Sam."

"G, I get a call from Hetty in the middle of the night to say that you and Deeks have vanished from the security cams here. We arrive and we come across a cat that looks like it took a swipe at you and you brush it off." Sam had managed to get Callen to the couch while Kensi got her partner to the chair opposite it. Sam continued to talk as he cleand his partners arm. "Now, either tell us what is going on or I'll get Hetty back on the phone and say that you both have concussions because neither of you are making any sense." He looked at his partner of nearly five years and saw that he looked toward Deeks and they both nodded.

"Alright." Callen sighed. He knew it was a matter of time before they found out. "Kens, the fake fortune you gave me the other day to convince Nayam-Singh, where did you pull the kitten line from?" He looked at his former student.

"When you came in the Monday before Niko broke into your place, I noticed cat hairs on the back of your shirt." She had spotted them and wondered where he had got them from. She figured that she didn't want to know but when the fortune telling came up, she couldn't resist it. Kensi got up and got the two men a glass of water each then sat on the arm of the chair Deeks sat in, as the two men told their stories of how the cat came into their lives.

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A/N: I am SOOOOO sorry for the delay. Family matters and no internet decided to hit me at the same time. As I mentioned up top, while writting this section I realised that I hadn't written anything to incorperate season three, so there will be more than another two chapters to go. Anyone have any ideas for me? Anything they want to see in this. I don't have season three on DVD yet, so I have to watch them online again to get ideas.

A/N 2: Hope this part makes sense.


	15. Clara

Ok I know I know, what happened to the up-dates? Waiting for season 3 to arrive on dvd took longer than I expected.

First of all, I would like to thank a few reviewers.

Shestarsky

SilverSentinal21

Chaplinsgirl

CM-x-SN-x-HP-x-roxmysox

kath46

Ambrosia Rush

And everyone else and all those guests who stumbled onto the story and were kind enough to leave a review. Your words and comments put a smile on my face.

This chapter starts toward the end of season 3 episode 1 and flows from that. The lines in **bold** are from the show and I do not own them or the characters. They belong to Shane Brennen.

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Callen knew that Hetty had been at her place 'recuperating' for several months and he figured that she might like to see Barry. After another hectic day, a kid hacker and several breaches to the DOD he went round. After letting himself into the house he let Barry out. As he watched the cat take in his surroundings, Callen looked for Hetty. He headed out the back door when he noticed a guard standing next to the opening in the hedge. He walked up to Hetty.

"**So this is how you recuperate?"** as he walked closer to her, what he had been planning on saying flew out the window as he spotted the file in the briefcase with his name on it. He was sure that Hetty had made sure that he did.

"**I was wondering how long it would take you to visit me? How are things at work?"** She knew that he had seen the file as his footsteps faltered.

"**Well I'm sure you know better than me**." As he sat down, Callen threw a look toward the briefcase that Hetty had shut a second before.

"**You and Hunter playing nice?"** the pleasantries would only last for so long and she was waiting for the moment that Callen asked the question that she could not answer, not yet.

"**When are you coming back?"**

She paused a second before answering **"Soon enough."**

"**You owe me some answers."**

_And there it is._ "**Is that so? Answers to what specifically?**"

"**What happened in Romania, why I knew that beach, who my mom was? All of it. You knew things you never told me, why?"** he couldn't help it, a little longing tone crept into his voice as he said the last word.

Hetty caught the tone of longing in his voice. **"If I didn't tell you something it was for your own good. To protect you."** She leaned forward to try and get her point across.

"**I deserve the truth."** He pleadingly demanded. She knew something and wasn't telling him.

"**Ah the truth. It's not always so simple. I don't have all the answers you think I do. The last thing I ever wanted to give you was false hope. I know how much it all means to you."** She knew it was weak, but it was the truth.

"**Do you?!"** He allowed his disbelief to show in his words. He reached over, opened the briefcase and pulled out the file he had seen.

"**And something tells me everything I want to know, everything I deserve to know is right here. Am I right?" **

"**No, but go ahead and open it if you don't trust me."** She regretted having to pull that card on him, but it was a last ditch attempt to get him to let it go for now.

Callen fondled the envelope, looking at it longingly. She pulled out the trust card, a low blow. **"I will find out who I am and who my family was with or without anyone's help."** He threw the file back into the case and slammed the lid before walking away without a second glance.

Inwardly, she sighed as he threw the file back. **"Yes you will Mr Callen."** She said as she sat back in her chair.

After Callen had left him in the living room, Barry had wondered around. He had never been here before and he didn't know why Callen had brought him here, until he caught Callen and Hetty's words. They were heated. They had never spoken to each other like that in the whole time that he had been with them.

He headed out toward it and saw the small woman who had allowed him to sleep in the old building lifting the lid of a silver case. And the only sign of Callen was his back as he left the courtyard. Thinking that Callen had gone to get him from the living room, Barry decided that by staying here, Callen might return and make things right with Hetty. They had never been mad at each other like this. As he waited for Callen to return, Barry decided to play.

He stole toward Hetty, keeping out of her line of sight. As the woman turned back to a laptop on the table, Barry leapt for the table. He landed on the top of the silver case and it shut under him, causing him to lose his footing. He fell off the table and landed on his feet beside Hetty. He turned to look up at her as though to say _I meant for that to happen_.

Hetty jumped as something large and orange landed on the case she had just opened, causing to close. She grabbed at the tea cup on the table as the 'thing' caused it to shake and followed the orange thing as it landed on the ground beside her. "And what are you doing here, Mr Barry? Did Callen bring you over?" Hetty looked around in case her senior agent in charge returned. She had not meant to hurt him, even if it was for his own good. There was still so much that she herself did not know.

She sighed and bent to pat the cat that had started to lick the dust from his 'fall' off his tail. Once she had straightened Barry surprised her by jumping onto her lap. He looked straight at her and Hetty could see the lecture behind his eyes. For a cat, he was remarkably readable.

"If I had more to tell him I would. But there would be no point if I myself am unable to understand what happened." She looked directly at him, daring him to swat her with his paw, as he had in the past. She wished more than anything that she had the answers for him, that all she had been able to collect was more than a file a centimetre thick. She didn't want to break any confidentially agreements she had signed over the years, so what she had was to be handed to him when she died.

Barry looked at her and listened, hearing and sensing the sadness and truth in her words. He turned and leapt onto the keyboard of the laptop, hitting Hetty on the nose with his tail as he turned and walked across the top of the case. To remind her that she had hurt his friend … and hers. He sat on the case looked at her as she shook her head at his cheekiness. It had been nearly half an hour since Callen had left, and it was clear that he had forgotten that he had brought Barry over. No doubt the file in the case under his cat had driven everything else from his mind. Hetty called for the guard and asked him to organise some supplies for the cat, who would be staying for a few days.

A couple of days later found Hetty opening the sealed file that she had for Callen. She once again poured through it, hoping to find something that she had missed the last few hundred times that she had looked. But, no there was nothing, again. She sighed and went to the kitchen to organise something for dinner. She noticed Barry had finished his bowls of pellets and milk. Adding more milk to his bowl, she wondered where he was.

After fixing a healthy meal of steak and vegetables, she went back to the living room to eat. She saw Barry sitting on her table where she had left the file. She looked around suddenly, fearing that Callen was in the room. He had managed to sneak up on her on occasion and the last thing she needed was him doing it now. She didn't want him to see the contents of the file just yet.

Satisfied that her senior field agent was not in her house, she quickly ate her dinner, all the while looking at Barry. Something had caught his eye among the few pieces of paper and he was looking at it with such intensity that Hetty finally gave in and got up to see. It was a black and white photo of a woman with black hair and white jumper. The photographer had caught her as she turned around, flinging it out in a black wave over her shoulder.

"Of all the things for you to find, it had to be this one." She said sadly to the cat. As she went to pick it up and put it back in with the others, Barry slammed both front paws on it and growled. Hetty stepped back in shock. She had never seen the cat act like this, and while it sounded a little silly, it frightened her. "What has gotten into you Barry?" She went to get the photo again and the cat growled again, picked up the photo in his mouth and headed off toward the front door. "Oh, so you're going to take it to Callen are you? I don't think so buddy." She pulled out a remote from her pocket and hit a button that had just been added to it, sealing and locking the cat flap shut.

Barry went to push the cat flap so that he could head out only to find that it wouldn't open. He batted at it again and when it remained close he went back to the living room and sat at the opening, head tipped to one side, photo of the woman still in his mouth. _You have to open a door sooner or later, and when you do, I'll be waiting for it._

Hetty could see that he was determined to take the photo to Callen, no matter what she did, so she compromised. She crossed her hands in front of her and spoke quietly, "I plan on being back at the office in two days. I will give him the photo and tell him a little about her. You figured out that she was his mother, didn't you?"

Barry looked at her and heard the honest tone in her voice. He walked back over to her and sat holding the photo out to her. She took it and sat in a nearby chair. "Her name was Clara."

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Hope this sounds ok. The episode where we learn about Callen's mother, Hetty's words sounded like they had been rehearsed, so this is my reasoning why.


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